Digimon2EXE
by Wolf-ODonnell
Summary: The sequel to the much reviewed Digimon.EXE! Marvel as Takato and friends do battle against the most powerful of the Four Internet Crime Syndicates, the Blue Dragon DigiMafia.
1. Prologue

**Digimon(2).EXE**

**By Wolf O'Donnell**

WARNING! May contain Alternative Universe situations and out-of-character experiences. Upon reading this, you hereby agree that you forfeit all your rights to sue me and that I cannot be held liable for any psychological or physical damage caused by the fact that I use British English spelling and that this fanfic contains NO graphic depictions of a heterosexual and homosexual nature. Digimon is copyrighted by Bandai and Toei Animation Ltd. Wolf O'Donnell is copyrighted by Nintendo Ltd, although that might have nothing to do with the fanfic. Digimon(2).EXE is based on Rockman.EXE, which is copyrighted by Capcom Ltd. Constructive criticism is very welcome.

Author's Note: One of you has revealed one of my surprises in the reviews, namely the identity of the Dragon Syndicate Leader. True, the description of the Leader in Transmission 02 was a big give away, but I still don't want you spoiling surprises for newbies. (They might look at the reviews before reading my fanfic to decide whether it's worth reading or not).  
So, please do not give away secrets and surprises in your reviews. Thank you.

* * * * *

Prologue  
Generations ago, a meteorite struck the Earth and caused a great disaster that befell all those that lived on the planet. Countless died and the environment was wrecked beyond belief. It took several years and plenty of hard work to return the Earth to normal. To prevent further incidents, nations of the Earth banded together and built the Orbital Space Ring. It was a gigantic ring-shaped space station built around the Earth and designed to spot further meteorites and destroy them before they reach the planet.

With the expansion of technology that followed after, the Digital Age was created. Everyone now carries a portable exploration device called a D-Scanner. This Digital Scanner acts as an advanced portable digital assistant. Using it, you can make phone calls, send and receive e-mails, keep a calendar, store data, shop online and check news from around the Earth Sphere (the Earth and the Space Ring). These D-Scanners have become so convenient and useful that they have become essential for everday life!

Every D-Scanner has a program installed into it called a Digitally Integrated General Information Manager and Online Navigator or DIGIMON for short. By customing your D-Scanner's Digimon program, you can give it a unique personality and even talk to it and befriend it.

The Year is Post Apocalypse 176. Three months have passed since the military computer hacking incident perpetrated by the Internet Terrorist organisation, Hypnos. With its destruction, many people thought that the viruses that were spread across the Internet would weaken. However, the people's hopes have turned to despair. With the Hypnos Organisation out of the way, the four major digi-mafia organisations, the Blue Dragon Syndicate, the Snake and Tortoise Syndicate, the White Tiger Syndicate and the Red Phoenix Syndicate, have grown in power.

The Officials and the Digital Earth Volunteer Army (DEVA) Organisation tries its best to protect the Earth Sphere against the four crime syndicates and pretty much succeeds. However, one Syndicate does better than the others. This is the Dragon Syndicate. Rumours have spread throughout the Earth Sphere that the former leader of the Syndicate was assassinated and replaced with a more ruthless leader than before.

Takato Matsuda is a young boy studying at the East Inphynitio School on the Orbital Space Ring. With his friends by his side, he once defeated the evil Hypnos Organisation and its Juggernaut Virus. However, that was some months ago, and his identity as the one that helped destroy Juggernaut was kept a secret from the public. No one knew of his brave deeds, least of all, his teacher, Ms. Asaji, whom couldn't quite believe his excuse for not doing his homework...

So, what adventures will await Takato and friends? Well, only time will tell...

**_To be continued..._**


	2. Transmission 01: Going Digital

**Digimon(2).EXE**

**By Wolf O'Donnell**

WARNING! May contain Alternative Universe situations and out-of-character experiences. Upon reading this, you hereby agree that you forfeit all your rights to sue me and that I cannot be held liable for any psychological or physical damage caused by the fact that I use British English spelling and that this fanfic contains NO graphic depictions of a heterosexual and homosexual nature. Digimon is copyrighted by Bandai and Toei Animation Ltd. Wolf O'Donnell is copyrighted by Nintendo Ltd, although that might have nothing to do with the fanfic. Digimon(2).EXE is based on Rockman.EXE, which is copyrighted by Capcom Ltd. Constructive criticism is very welcome.

* * * * *

Transmission 01: Going Digital  
Lesson 1: Paths are the digital representation of wires and connections between computers. Terminals are the digital representation of computers or machines connected up to the Net, otherwise known as the Digital World. It is impossible for anything to stray off a path and terminals, as nothing exists beyond them.

Lesson 2: The Digital World is divided into ten official domains, each run by a nation. No two domains are the same and are categorised by the style of their paths and terminals and by the 'sky'.

Lesson 3: Digivolution is when a Digimon is upgraded a level. There are six levels- Baby, In-Training, Rookie, Champion, Ultimate and Mega.

Lesson 4: DigiModify Data (DMD) are special battle programs that can be loaded on to DigiModify Chips. They alter your Digimon, giving them temporary special abilities that can be used in battle against viruses or against Digimon.

Lesson 5: There are three types of Digimon- data, vaccine and virus. Data types can use more DMDs than other types. Vaccine types take less damage, whilst virus types have have a more powerful attacks. When picking a Digimon, you must be very careful. If you prefer DigiModifying your Digimon, then the data-type is for you. If you prefer defence, the vaccine type and if you prefer offence, then the virus type.

Lesson 6: All Digimon are classified by six styles- normal, aqua, fire, wood, earth and electrical.

    These were the lessons that Takato Matsuda had to know. His Digimon was a Rookie level, fire-style, virus-type by the name of Guilmon. There was a point in Guilmon's life when he had reached Mega level, but an unfortunate infection with a Flu.1160 virus had weakened his Digimon.  
    "Okay, class, today we will be going over the basics of Digimon styles," announced Ms. Asaji, as she got up from her seat. She pulled her D-Tector from out of her drawer. "Remember that styles do not only apply just to Digimon. They also apply to viruses, so if you do come across an elemental style virus when using the Net, you can apply the techniques you learn in today's lesson against them."  
    A D-Tector was the latest model of the D-Scanner. It was capable of storing more DMDs than its predecessor and was also capable of storing the newly invented Matrix Data. Unlike DMDs, Matrix Data could only be used outside of Duels, and was used for healing a Digimon after a tough battle or unlocking locked data packets and much more. Every person now had a D-Tector, including the teachers, whom used them to store their teaching data.  
    "Class, take out your D-Tectors and plug them in to your computer terminals," ordered Ms. Asaji, as she plugged her D-Tector into the blackboard, which was in actual fact, a rather large computer screen made to look like a blackboard.  
    Takato smiled. Another IT Lesson. He loved IT lessons because he was so good at them. Heck, he was the one that saved the entire Earth Sphere from the Juggernaut Virus, after all. If anything, he should have been the one to give the lesson. Well, either him or Jenrya.  
"Guilmon," he whispered to his Digimon, as he reached for his D-Tector. Like the D-Scanner before it, his D-Tector looked just like a flip-top lid mobile phone. "You heard Ms. Asaji, right?"  
    "You betcha, Takato," replied Guilmon from the D-Scanner.  
    "Okay, I'll plug you in now."

* * * * *

    A beam of light, known as a data stream, shone down from the 'sky' (for lack of a better word) and hit the ground. A red dinosaur Digimon, with a white stomach and a grey hazard symbol on it, materialised in the data stream and the beam of light disappeared. The fire-style Digimon, Guilmon, looked around him. Yep, the place hadn't changed much.  
    Guilmon stood on a terminal that was about the same size as Takato's classroom, and it was the same shape too. A blackboard floated in mid-air at the front of the terminal and Digimon stood in areas that represented where their Operators (the people who owned them) were in the Real World. The terminal itself was green and looked like a motherboard. The paths that led away from the terminal (there was only the one) looked like they were made out pencil slices, like slices from a banana. These terminals and paths floated in mid-air, completely surrounded by something that was akin to a screensaver of a collage of textbook scraps.  
    A white Program floated in front of the floating blackboard. It had a roundish head, with frilly, purple-edged ears and feet. Its legs were stubby, as were its arms and it had rather large, green eyes. On its forehead was a red triangle with three, smaller, black triangles around it, which formed a six-pointed star. That symbol appeared on the foreheads of all Programs, as it was the symbol of the Officials.  
    "Let's begin your lesson, shall we?" said Ms. Asaji's voice, which came from apparently nowhere. "Today, we shall learn the Rule of Elemental Weakness. As you learnt in last week's lesson, there are six styles, five of which are elemental. Who can name all five elemental styles? Yes, Mayumi?"  
    "Aqua, Fire, Wood, Earth and Electrical," came the reply.  
    "Good," praised Ms. Asaji. "Now, in the Real World, everyone knows that water can put out a fire, right? Well, in the Digital World, it's similar. Aqua attacks are strong against fire style Digimon or viruses. Now, remember this rule and you won't go wrong. Aqua is weak against electricity, which is weak against earth, which is weak against wood, which is weak against fire, which is weak against aqua."  
    Guilmon didn't bother listening. He knew this already. The Digimon, being a fire-style Digmon, had encountered quite a few aqua-style viruses before. They really hurt him. Guilmon yawned loudly, not paying attention to Ms. Asaji, as she droned on about how combinations of attacks that utilised the Rule of Weakness could be used to deal a huge amount of damage to computer viruses.  
    "So, let's put this all into practice, shall we?" suggested Ms. Asaji.  
    "Activating Duelling Area!" announced the Program.  
    Guilmon suddenly found himself in a three by six tiled area, which was divided into two sections. His half consisted of tiles with red edges, and the other half consisted of tiles with blue edges. He heard Takato tell him to be careful.  
"I will be," he told his Operator.  
    "Here is your first problem," announced the white Program. "Here is an ElecBug virus. What style attack should you use?"

* * * * *

    Takato looked at the computer screen. He saw an isometric bird's eye view of Guilmon and where his Digimon friend was. A third of the screen, however, had been taken up with a menu of DMDs that was available to him.  
"Easy!" he exclaimed, as he selected an earth-style attack and watched as Guilmon used the earth-style QuakeShock DMD against the ElecBug.  
    The next problem was a little bit tricky. The virus was clearly an aqua-style virus, however, it was floating above a grass tile. It was well known that wood styles could heal on grass tiles. If Takato used a fire-style attack against the aqua-style, the grass tile would cause double damage to the aqua-style virus. However, the aqua-style virus was weak to electricity-style attacks, so if he used an electricity-style attack against it, that would also cause double damage.  
    'What was it that Ms. Asaji said?' wondered Takato, as he looked at the DMDs laid out before him. That's it! Use the one that causes the most damage. He looked at the two styles of Modify Data he had. The fire-style was more powerful, so he picked that one.  


    The pale-faced man smiled, as he sat in his chair. His gloved hands were tented in front of him, as he rested his elbows on the arms of his executive-style chair. This man was a very powerful person. He was one of the most influential people in the entire Earth Sphere, which was the name given to the Orbital Space Ring and the Planet Earth combined. His competition were falling behind.  
    Only one person could guide the Earth Sphere to the future and that person was him, because he was the Leader of the notorious Blue Dragon Criminal Syndicate or just Dragon Syndicate for short. The names of the Syndicates were based on the Zenith Cross and the four Gods that were supposed to stand at the four cardinal points around Kyoto, hence there were three others- the Red Phoenix Criminal Syndicate, the Snake and Tortoise Syndicate and the White Tiger Criminal Syndicate.  
    Those Syndicates did not matter to him. What mattered to him was profit and the Clone Project. Yes, of all the things that mattered, the Clone Project was the most important of them. Without it, his dreams of destroying the other Syndicates would have been in vain.  
    "Agent H, are you in position?" asked the Head of the Dragon Syndicate.  
    "Yes, Your Excellency," replied a voice from the computer. "Everything is ready."  
    That was good. That was very good indeed. Whatever His Excellency wished for, he got. That was, after all, the point of being the head of a crime syndicate, wasn't it?  
"Proceed then," he ordered.  
    "Yes, Sir!"  
    The screen flickered and then returned to the document that had been on it previously. His Excellency, the Head of the Dragon Syndicate, then reached out and switched his computer off. There was no need to have it on. He rose from his leather chair and turned round to face the large window and the view it gave him of the city that sprawled out in front of him. He chuckled. Yes, it was a good day for the Syndicate. It was a very good day for the Syndicate indeed.  


    Takato reached up and readjusted his striped, school tie. His school uniform consisted of a blue blazer over a white shirt with grey trousers and black shoes, and a black tie with yellow stripes. All schools throughout the Orbital Space Ring required pupils to wear uniforms, regardless of whether the schools were state-run or not.  
    "And don't let me catch you with an askew tie again, mister," barked the Vice-Principal, before he turned round sharply and continued down the corridor.  
    "Man, he's uptight," sighed Takato, before he muttered some rude obscenities about the Vice-Principal under his breath. He turned and walked over to the staircase.  
    "Hey, Takato!" called out a voice from behind the brown-haired youth, which made Takato turn round once more. "Wait up!"  
    It was Kai Urazoe one of Takato's best friends. Kai had dark brown hair, which was messier than Takato's and longer, so long in fact, that the youth had a tiny little ponytail at the back of his head. He ran straight up to Takato, a cheerful smile on his face.  
"So, you heading for the cafeteria or did you remember to bring a packed lunch this time?" asked Kai with a chuckle.  
    After so many years, one would have thought that school meals would have improved. Fat chance.  
    "I remembered this time, Kai," he told his friend, as he gestured towards his backpack. "Come on, let's get going before the place packs up." Takato was about to set foot on to the first step, when a horrible screeching noise made him grind to a halt and grind his teeth. "What's that noise?" he shouted, covering his ears with the palms of his hands. He couldn't bear it. The hideous clamour was painful. "I feel as if my head's going to explode!"  
    "Takato, don't listen!" warned Guilmon, but his voice couldn't be heard over the racket. "Don't listen, Takato!"  
    "Man, that smarts!" cried Kai, as the noise got to him. He felt himself weakening at the onslaught of noise. It felt as if someone was branding his brain with a red hot, iron. Kai felt as if his legs would buckle underneath him.  
    There was a crackling and the screeching noise from the speakers began to waver and slow down. It became a low, growling speech. That was when Takato realised that there was a subliminal message hidden in the awful screeching. Takato suddenly heard the screech stop completely.  
    "Man, what was up with that?" asked Kai curiously, as he felt his strength coming back up. He uncovered his ears and slowly got back up to his feet.  
    Takato looked up at the speakers and then around him.  
"I don't know," he replied quietly. He looked up and down the corridor, seeing the other students recovering. "I just don't know," he sighed.

* * * * *

    Several paths and large platforms floated in a sky that looked like a screensaver of a collage of textbook scraps. These were the paths and terminals of the school's computer network. The paths looked as if they were made from slices of pencil and the terminals looked like the chequered linoleum floor of the school.  
    And on one of these terminals stood a Digimon program. It looked like an anthropomorphic fox with yellow and white fur. On each of its arms was a long, purple wristband each with the Yin-Yang symbol on it.  
"Ruki, I've cut the PA System off from the network," announced the Digimon.  
    "Good work, Renamon," praised a female voice. "Now go and get that Syndicate Digimon."  
    Renamon nodded her head.  
"Right," she agreed, before she turned round. She was about to take a step forward, when an shower of dark stars hit her. Renamon was suddenly propelled backwards. She hit the floor of the terminal with a heavy thud, before electricity suddenly crackled through her body.  
    "Renamon!" cried Ruki.  
    "You're not going anywhere," laughed a snide voice that seemed to echo all around Renamon. "I've got orders from my Operator to terminate all Digimon that interfere with the Syndicate's plans and that includes you, foxy!"

* * * * *

    Takato heard a ringing and delved into his pocket, bringing out his D-Tector. He flipped the lid open and placed the thing to his ear like a phone.  
"Moshi, moshi, Takato speaking," announced the brown-haired youth. "Ruki? What's up?" He listened as Renamon's Operator talked to him. "Okay, I'll be right there."  
    "Sounds serious," stated Guilmon, as he had heard what Ruki had said. How couldn't he? After all, he lived within the D-Tector and in a way he was the D-Tector.  
    "Yeah, it does," agreed Takato with a nod of his head. He closed the lid of his lunchbox and turned to face Kai, whom was looking at him with a curious look on his face. "Kai, do you mind looking after my lunch for me?" he asked his friend. "I've got to go help Ruki."  
    A frown spread across Kai's face. He had never known Takato to interrupt his lunch for anything.  
"What's up?" he asked curiously. Whatever it was, he knew it was serious. There was no other explanation for Takato not eating his lunch; something had to be wrong.  
    "Ruki's Digimon is in trouble," replied Takato abruptly, as he quickly shoved his D-Tector into his blazer pocket. He slipped out from the bench and quickly ran across the tiled floor of the cafeteria. 'I wonder what type of trouble Renamon is in,' thought Takato, as he pushed his way past the double doors of the cafeteria and ran down the corridor. 'She's not one to get into trouble. It must be really serious.' He skidded round a corner and then dashed round.  
    His D-Tector started to ring again. Takato quickly delved into his pocket and brought out his D-Tector, flipping its lid open once more.  
    "Takato, it's Ruki," announced Guilmon from the D-Tector, as Takato raised it to his ear.  
    "Ruki, what's up?" asked Takato curiously and with a slight tone of worry in his voice. He heard the distress in Ruki's voice, something he had not heard since the battle against the Juggernaut Virus. Takato listened carefully. "I'm nearly there," he told her. "Okay, I understand. See you." He pressed a button and then flipped the lid shut. "Guilmon, I'm going to plug you straight into the computer where Renamon is," announced Takato, before he turned into a room.  
    The room was full of desks that had keyboards and mouses connected to them. On each desk was a translucent screen with pole like metallic supports on either side. Those were the monitors and once the screen was switched on, the screens would become opaque.  
    The brown-haired youth's eyes caught sight of a computer that was switched on. That had to be the one. Takato rushed over and switched it off quickly, before snapping the switch back into the 'on' position.  
"Okay, Guilmon, it's time," he told his Digimon. Takato quickly plugged the D-Tector in and hoped that Guilmon would get to Ruki in time.

* * * * *

    The surge that froze Renamon finally disappeared. The Digimon felt as if she could move again.  
"Okay, then, short stuff, it's payback time," she growled, as she stalked towards the Digimon that had attacked her. For some strange reason, she couldn't see the Digimon, as it was shrouded in some sort of mist. Well, no matter. She would find him sooner or later with her keen vulpine sense of hearing or smell. "Diamond Storm!"  
    "Ha, you missed!" laughed the Digimon from within the mist. "Now it's my turn! Eat this!" From the mist shot out several more of the dark stars that had hit Renamon.  
    This time, the fox Digimon was prepared. She leapt over them skilfully and landed not too far away from the mist. Renamon roared loudly, before slashing her claws into the mist. They swept through nothing. A claw lashed out at Renamon and scratched her face. She cried out in pain, as more dark stars leapt out of the mist.  
    Guilmon leapt in front of the dark stars. They splashed against his scaly skin but didn't seem to affect him.  
"All right, you," growled Guilmon, "the game's up." A warning snarl, like that of a wild wolf, had spread across his scaly lips. The growl in his voice was animalistic in nature and part protective in its own way.  
    The mist started to retreat.  
"So, you think you can stop the Syndicate's plans, eh?" laughed the Digimon within the mist. "That's impossible. We will brainwash the children into becoming new Syndicate recruits and nothing you can do can stop us!" The Digimon laughed, as the mist began to disappear.  
    "I don't believe it!" exclaimed Renamon in surprise. "You're a Syndicate Digimon?"

**_To be continued..._**


	3. Transmission 02: Dark Wing

**Digimon(2).EXE**

**By Wolf O'Donnell**

WARNING! May contain Alternative Universe situations and out-of-character experiences. Upon reading this, you hereby agree that you forfeit all your rights to sue me and that I cannot be held liable for any psychological or physical damage caused by the fact that I use British English spelling and that this fanfic contains NO graphic depictions of a heterosexual and homosexual nature. Digimon is copyrighted by Bandai and Toei Animation Ltd. Wolf O'Donnell is copyrighted by Nintendo Ltd, although that might have nothing to do with the fanfic. Digimon(2).EXE is based on Rockman.EXE, which is copyrighted by Capcom Ltd. Constructive criticism is very welcome.

* * * * *

Transmission 02: Dark Wing  
    "He looks like some kind of bowling ball with legs and wings," commented Ruki.  
    Renamon realised that the Digimon in front of her did seem quite small, however, that didn't mean it still wasn't dangerous.  
"Who are you?" asked Renamon cautiously, keeping her distance from the small Digimon.  
    A small smile spread across the Digimon's face, as he floated in front of them, keeping itself afloat with the beating of its tattered wings.  
"My name is Devimon," replied the small, black Digimon. He looked like head with clawed feet and wings and stitches. However, he certainly didn't look very formidable. "I've been ordered by the Head of the Dragon Syndicate to brainwash the children of these schools through the subliminal messages on the PA System. And I've been doing quite a good job of it, don't you think?"  
    "Not really," replied Renamon. "You're nothing more than an unimportant blabber mouth."  
    Guilmon advanced cautiously towards Devimon. The thing seemed so small, he thought it would be no match against him in a fight.  
"Why do you want to do this?" asked Guilmon curiously. "Working for the Crime Syndicates is bad. Did they force you into it?"  
    An angry snarl had spread across the Digimon's face, as Guilmon advanced. Renamon noticed this. She could tell that something was going to happen. She could tell that something incredibly bad was going to happen.  
"No, stay back!" warned Renamon, but it was far too late.  
    Devimon spread his wings and glowed darkly. He became entirely black and grew until he was Renamon's height. Horns grew out of his head, as his wings spread wide apart, flinging Guilmon away from him.  
    The fire-style Digimon landed with a thud a few metres away from the transforming Devimon, wincing in pain as he crashed onto the hard floor of the terminal.  
    "Guilmon, you okay, boy?" asked Takato concernedly.  
    The dinosaur Digimon looked up from the floor and glared at the transforming Digimon.  
"I'm fine," replied Guilmon, as he got back up to his feet. He watched as horns grew on the head of the Digimon. A low, guttural growl rumbled from his snarling lips, as he beheld the transformation. Deep down, he knew that this Digimon was evil and would do everything in its power to destroy them. He had underestimed Devimon.  
    Devimon crossed his arms, as he looked at them with a fanged, smug smile. He laughed at them.  
"Did you really think that you can defeat me, Rookies?" he asked the two Rookie-level Digimon. "Fools! You are only Rookie level, whereas I, the Great Devimon, am Champion level. You have no hope of defeating me!" He leapt into the air and lashed out at Renamon with his sharp claws, tearing clumps of digital fur from her. "Pitiful! Evil Wing!" He clenched his right hand into a fist and fired a powerful black ray of darkness at the two Digimon.  
    Both leapt out of the way. Guilmon rushed at Devimon with a roar. He slashed his claws at Devimon, but found them passing through thin air. He leapt up the normal-style Digimon and tried to bite Devimon. His teeth snapped on to thin air. A black hand then smacked him in the face, sending him flying back.  
    "Hold on, Guilmon!" called Takato. "DigiModify- Hyper Speed activate!"  
    A surge of power built up within Guilmon's muscles. He rushed forward with blinding speed and leapt again. Guilmon's teeth sank into Devimon's arm. He held on tightly, growling like a dog and tugging at the normal-style Digimon's arm.  
    "Let go, you miserable mongrel!" roared Devimon angrily, as he beat Guilmon's head with his free hand. "Let go!"  
    "Leave my friend alone!" shouted Renamon, as she leapt through the air and kicked Devimon in the face.  
    Guilmon let go and landed to the floor, as Devimon crashed to the terminal ground.  
"Thanks for the assist, Rena," thanked Guilmon. If he was a dog, his tail would have been wagging furiously. "So, Devimon, give up, yet?"  
    The Syndicate Digimon rose up to his feet, an angry snarl on his face. He wiped his mouth of spittle, before a smile spread across those bloodless lips of his.  
"You're everything that His Excellency said you were," chuckled Devimon, as he raised his arms into the air, his hands outstretched as if to touch the sky. "You're good, but I will not be defeated by you! Come! Come and do my bidding!"  
    A strange dark whirlpool appeared above them.  
    "It's raining viruses!" exclaimed Guilmon, as he saw several strange computer programs drop to the floor. He saw that all of them were GreenDrop viruses, which looked like amorphous balls of green snot with faces. "Easy!" he exclaimed, before inhaling deeply. "Pyro Sphere!" He spat out a sphere of flames that struck one of the GreenDrops, incinerating it.  
    "Touch of Evil!"  
    Several clawed hands, just like Devimon's, burst out of the terminal floor. One lashed out and grabbed Guilmon by his head, holding him down to the ground. He tried to break free, but more clawed hands grabbed him. He couldn't move at all. His pupils widened, when he saw Devimon fire a black ray of dark energy straight at him.  
"Takato!" he called out to his Operator.  
    "Hang on," called out Takato. "DigiModify- WarGreymon's Shield activate!"  
    A shield like the one that WarGreymon used appeared right in front of Guilmon and took the brunt of the blast. It wasn't enough to keep from Guilmon being back, however. The shield disintergrated into tiny bits of digital data that dispersed into the air, as did the arms that held him down.  
    Renamon saw that Guilmon was hurt badly, not from the ray, but from the forceful collision with the ground.  
"You're going to pay for that!" shouted Renamon, as she leapt into the air. "Diamond Storm!" She flung a powerful shower of crystal shards at Devimon, but the Digimon's wings curled around him protectively and her attack merely bounced off of him. "No... That's impossible!"  
    She saw Devimon's clawed hand lash out at her and she did a back-flip, avoiding those sharp claws. More hands burst out of the ground, and that she didn't count on. They grabbed at her, whilst some clawed at her painfully. Renamon cried out in agony, as the hands clawed and punched her.  
    Guilmon practically howled with rage. He inhaled sharply and spat out a ball of fire at Devimon. He missed. Guilmon rushed forward and slashed his claws at Devimon.  
    "Is that the best you can do?" laughed Devimon. "I would have expected better from the Digimon that destroyed the Juggernaut Virus!" He leapt into the air and performed a whirling roundhouse kick that knocked Guilmon back. "Now, be deleted!" he laughed, as he plunged through the air and lashed his claws out.

* * * * *

    "This can't be happening," protested Takato, as he watched Guilmon roll out of the way. "We're losing to him."  
    Ruki sighed, shaking her head.  
"We shouldn't be losing like this," she sighed miserably. "We're out of touch. We've completely lost it."  
    "No, we haven't!" shouted Takato all of a sudden. He could see that Guilmon was clearly in no danger. Sure, his Digimon would be hurt, but not fatally. "If our Digimon team up together, they'll be able to defeat that Devimon for sure!" He pressed a button on his D-Tector and brought up a new interface on the screen on his D-Tector. "Let's see what DigiModify Chips I've got installed right now," he murmured, as he checked the screen. "Ruki, have you got a Hyper Speed Chip?"  
    "Yep," replied Ruki with a nod of her head. "What...?" she began, only to trail off. "Oh, I get it. You've got another Hyper Speed chip, haven't you?" She received a silent nod in reply and suddenly realised what Takato's plan was. "You know, goggle-head, that just might work."  
    Takato hated it when she called him that. He had only worn goggles once, only once, and she continued to tease him about it. Perhaps he shouldn't have had gone to that costume party as Taichi Yagami.  
"It will work," he said sternly, ignoring her goggle-head comment. "Okay, let's go! DigiModify- Hyper Speed activate!"  
    "DigiModify- Hyper Speed activate!"

* * * * *

    Guilmon could feel the surge of speed in his body. He rushed forward and slashed the arms that held Renamon down. Still using his enhanced speed, he grabbed Renamon by her hand. Guilmon spun her round and round him, faster and faster. He let go and sent her flying towards Devimon.  
    Renamon hit Devimon, sending her opponent flying back. She landed on her feet with cat-like grace, as Guilmon rushed up to her.  
"Okay, let's double team him, shall we?" she suggested. She received a nod in reply. "Okay, then. Diamond Storm!" She crossed her arms and spread them, letting fly with a shower of crystal shards that flew straight at Devimon and the viruses that dropped down in front of to attack.  
    "Pyro Sphere!" Guilmon inhaled sharply and spat out several fire balls at the Digimon.  
    Their attacks flew through the air relentlessly, smashing into viruses and into Devimon indiscriminately. Neither escaped Guilmon and Renamon's onslaught, until the Hyper Speed Modification wore off.  
    At the end of the onslaught, Devimon was bruised and battered. Still, there was that angry expression on his face. Still, his red eyes glowed with pure hatred, but now they seemed to burn with a fiery rage more intense than any Guilmon and Renamon had ever seen in their lives.  
"I will not lose to you punks!" spat Devimon angrily. He rose to his feet and spread his arms and wings out wide. "Come to me, my viruses and empower me!" He laughed insanely, as the remaining viruses turned into black, gear-like objects and flew towards him. They pierced his body and went inside of him.  
    Guilmon and Renamon backed off as Devimon began to grow in size.  
    "That's not possible!" exclaimed Ruki's voice. "No Digimon is supposed to grow to that size! Not even a MegaGargomon!"  
    The largest Digimon was only three times as large as an Angemon. Anything larger was more likely to be corrupted by a virus and therefore a candidate for deletion by the Antivirus Programs.  
    "I don't care how big you can get!" shouted Guilmon. He shouted more loudly as Devimon grew in size, for fear of not being heard. "We will stop you and you Syndicate scumbags!" he roared, before inhaling sharply. "Pyro Sphere!" He spat a sphere of fire at Devimon, but it merely bounced off the Digimon's skin harmlessly.  
    Devimon roared with laughter.  
"Do you really think that you can defeat me so easily?" he asked the two smaller Digimon. "I am a Digimon from the Blue Dragon Syndicate, the most powerful crime syndicate in the entire Earth Sphere. Nothing can stop me! Nothing!" He lashed out with a claw and smashed it onto the terminal ground, but not before the two Digimon leapt out of the way. "Miserable insects!"  
    "Hey, I've got an idea!" called out Ruki. "Renamon, try and trick him with this. DigiModify- Holy Statue activate!"  
    A stone statue suddenly appeared in front of Renamon. The fox Digimon suddenly realised what it was.  
    "Please, I know what that is," chuckled Devimon. "I won't touch it with a barge pole."  
    "Surprised you know what one is," taunted Renamon.  
    This got the indignant response from Devimon that Renamon wanted to see. The black Digimon lashed out with his claws and stabbed them into the ground at Renamon. He missed the statue, however.  
"I will tear you into pieces, fox!" roared Devimon.  
    "Not likely," retorted Renamon, as she leapt in front of the statue.  
    Devimon laughed at the fox Digimon's poor effort. He placed his hand directly over Renamon and fired a ray of pure darkness at the Digimon. Renamon leapt out of the way, as the beam struck the ground, missing the statue again.  
    "Here, catch!" cried Guilmon, as he charged straight into the statue and pushed it into Devimon's beam of dark energy.  
    "No!" screamed Devimon in fear, as he saw the statue smash into the beam and shatter into pieces. He pulled his hand back. He looked on in horror and saw the statue had shattered into an uncountable number of pieces. "I've got to get out of here," he cried, before the pieces of stone turned into spheres of energy that shot up into the sky and then fell back down to plunge into Devimon's black digital flesh. "No, you'll pay for this!" screamed Devimon, as sphere after sphere of energy hit him.  
    Guilmon and Renamon watched as Devimon broke apart into bits of digital data that scattered apart.

* * * * *

    "We did it!" exclaimed Takato.  
    "We sure did, Takato," agreed Ruki with a smile on her face. "We don't make a bad team, do we?"  
    Takato glanced at the computer screen on Principal Hida's desk.  
"Nope, and it seems as if our Digimon take after us," he stated, as he saw Guilmon and Renamon talking together within the school's network. "Well, Principal Hida, it looks like your network problem's all over," he told the Principal with a widening smile on his face.  
    "Yes, it does seem that way," replied Hida with a nod of his head. "I must thank you, Takato, Ruki. What can I ever do to repay you?"  
    "That's okay, you needn't do anything for us," said Ruki modestly. "We were only doing what was right."  
    The Principal smiled.  
"Yes, that's right," he agreed with a nod of his head. "Well, I guess if I ever have computer problems I can turn to you two," he laughed cheerfully. "Oh, is that the time?" he exclaimed, when he turned his head to look at the clock. "You two had better get going or else you'll miss your lunch."  
    "Kai!" exclaimed Takato all of a sudden, as he remembered he had left his lunch with his friend. "He's got a bigger appetite than I have," he suddenly realised. "I've got to go!" He quickly unplugged his D-Tector and ran for it, afraid that his friend would end up eating his lunch.  
    Ruki sighed and shook his head.  
"Takato," she sighed in an exasperated tone of voice. "I'm sorry for that, Principal Hida. Have a nice day." She bowed respectfully to the Principal, before leaving his office.  
    "Yes, and you have a nice day too," said the Principal.  


    The Leader of the Blue Dragon Criminal Syndicate wore a blue military tunic. A cape was draped around his shoulders and held in place with a bat-shaped clasp. His pearl grey gloves were tented together, as he sat in his large velvet-cushioned, wooden chair. The blinds were closed, like last time, but this time the computer screen gave off a glow that illuminated his face.  
    He had blonde hair with bangs that dangled down to his eyebrows, which were covered with some sort of red mask. His face was pale, which contrasted greatly with his blood red mask, which covered only the top area around his eyes.  
"So, Agent H, you failed me, did you?" asked the Dragon Syndicate Leader, which was kind of surprising, seeing as he didn't have a mouth. "I did not expect this from you, Principal Hida."  
    "It wasn't my fault, honestly!" protested the image of Principal Hida. "It was those DEVA Cadets, the ones that helped destroy the Juggernaut Virus." The look on the Principal's face was one of pure terror. His face was almost as pale as that of the Syndicate Leader. "You must believe me, Your Excellency!"  
    His Excellency raised a gloved hand.  
"Silence!" he barked sharply. "Principal Hida, was I not the one that rescued your school from financial ruin? Was I not the one that provided your school with the up-to-date textbooks it sorely needed?"  
    "Yes, Mr..." began Hida, only to trail off. He did not know the name of the Dragon Syndicate's Leader. He began to wonder. Did anybody know the His Excellency's name?  
    "I gave you so much and in return you fail me like this?" growled His Excellency. "I expected more from you, Principal Hida, far more than this." He reached out and pressed a button and the image of the Principal disappeared. He pressed another button and another image appeared on the screen. "Agent M, commence Operation Epidemic," he ordered his next agent. "Oh, and Agent M..."  
    "Yes, sir?" exclaimed the new Agent.  
    "Don't fail me like Agent H did," stated His Excellency sternly. "He failed me and he will suffer dearly for his failure." A deadly smile spread across his face, one that made Agent M shiver with fear. "You will suffer too, if you don't succeed," he told her. "Do not forget that, Agent M. Never forget that."  
    "I won't, sir."  
    "Good," chuckled His Excellency, before he pressed another button and switched off the screen. "Things will go according to plan this time," he laughed. "I will have those Four Keys! They will be mine!" His insane laughter echoed all around him and even seemed to penetrate the Digital World.

**_To be continued..._**


	4. Transmission 03: Kids in America

**Digimon(2).EXE**

**By Wolf O'Donnell**

WARNING! May contain Alternative Universe situations and out-of-character experiences. Upon reading this, you hereby agree that you forfeit all your rights to sue me and that I cannot be held liable for any psychological or physical damage caused by the fact that I use British English spelling and that this fanfic contains NO graphic depictions of a heterosexual and homosexual nature. Digimon is copyrighted by Bandai and Toei Animation Ltd. Wolf O'Donnell is copyrighted by Nintendo Ltd, although that might have nothing to do with the fanfic. Digimon(2).EXE is based on Rockman.EXE, which is copyrighted by Capcom Ltd. Constructive criticism is very welcome.

* * * * *

Transmission 03: Kids in America  
    Three friends sat together. Alice, Ruki and Takato all sat within the small cafe with one incredibly large ice cream sundae on the table. It was larger than Ruki's head and thicker than Takato's head. There was chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, chocolate sauce, nuts, cream and to top it off, a few red, fresh strawberries.  
    "Whoa, that's huge!" exclaimed Takato, as he looked at the bowl in front of him. "You sure the three of us can finish it?"  
    "With your appetite, I don't see why not," retorted Ruki. She looked towards the brown-haired boy and began to wonder where exactly Takato managed to put it all. He ate like a pig. Why wasn't he as round as one? "Really, Takato, you should stop eating so much. If you bloat up then I won't be your girlfriend anymore."  
    A frown appeared on Takato's face. That sentence didn't make sense to him.  
"But you're not my girlfriend," he told her.  
    This surprised Alice.  
"What?" she exclaimed in complete disbelief. "You two broke up... again?" Alice couldn't believe those two. They managed to get together during the Power Plant Incident when the Syndicate shut off the Orbital Space Ring's power, broke up soon after that, then they managed to get back together a week and a half after that. They had broken up a second time after Takato went off to the Earth and then got back together right after the Juggernaut Virus incident. A week after, they had broken up again, only to get back together again.  
    Keeping track of their relationship was a hard job.  
"First you're together as a couple, then you're not," began Alice, "why don't you make up your minds?"  
    "It's not my fault," replied Takato with a mouthful of icecream. (Chocolate, if you're wondering). "Ruki's the one that keeps breaking up with me."  
    "If someone wouldn't be so dense, perhaps I would stick with that person," scowled Ruki angrily.  
    Alice sighed. So this was why they were so reluctant to get together and to speak to each other. She had suspected something, but she had no idea that it had come to being separate again.  
"I wonder when Jenrya is going to get here?" she wondered out loud.  


    "You remember when we first met?" asked Jenrya, as he walked with Ryo down the street.  
    For a while, the brown-haired youth didn't reply to Jenrya's question. It was as if he didn't hear the Chinese boy.  
"Yeah, I remember, Jen," replied Ryo with a nod of his head. "You were so shy, it was so cute!" He could remember seeing the red blush on Jenrya's face. "I had never seen anybody become that red before."  
    "Hey! You weren't exactly Mr. Confident either," retorted Jenrya in his own defence. "If I remember correctly, the only thing you could do was make one syllable noises."  
    "Back then we were both so clueless."  
    Jenrya nodded silently in agreement. He could remember denying his sexuality earlier on. He could remember denying that he had feelings for Ryo. It was blatant to everyone around them but to him and Ryo themselves.  
"Remember when I went out with Alice?" he asked Ryo. "Was that a case of major denial or what?" He could remember feeling incredibly uncomfortable with Alice. All he had done during that date was talk about Ryo. "It was wrong of me to go out with her, just to prove that I wasn't gay. I used her and that was so..."  
    "Yeah, but she saw through everything, Jen," interrupted Ryo, as he discreetly took a hold of Jenrya's hand and held it tightly. "Alice is a smart girl, you know."  
    "Yeah, I know," replied Jenrya with another nod of his head. He could remember her breaking off their relationship. "I was lucky that she was so understanding. She's a great friend."  
    "Uh huh, she sure was," agreed Terriermon from Jenrya's D-Tector. "Say, you remember Summer Camp?"  
    "I sure do," replied Ryo happily. "It was when we all met up together. When we first met."

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

    The sun shone brightly and the breeze blew gently through the leaves of the trees. This was the Earth and this was where they all met.  
    Jenrya had recently been given his D-Scanner by his father. His father worked as a scientist for the Officials, the guys who kept the Orbital Space Ring running. His full, real name was Lee Jiangling (surnames always came first in Eastern names) but he liked to be called Jenrya or even Jen. His friends always called him that. Well, actually, he only had one friend, two if you counted his virtual one.  
    The young dark blue-haired boy looked down at the D-Scanner. Within it was his only friend a D.I.G.I.M.O.N or Digitally Integrated General Information Manager and Online Navigator. His went by the name of Terriermon and was a wood-style vaccine-type Digimon. Jenrya lifted the lid of the mobile-phone-like D-Scanner to reveal the screen on its underside. On screen, Terriermon looked like a long-eared bunny with beige and green fur, just like Jenrya's favourite plush toy. In fact, his father had deliberately programmed Terriermon to look exactly like Jen's favourite plushie sot hat the kid wouldn't be scared of the Digimon.  
    "Well, Terriermon, we're here," said Jenrya timidly. He then turned the D-Scanner around and slowly moved it round in an arc to show off the Summer Camp to his Digimon.  
    "Wow, this is one neat place," stated Terriermon. "I don't see many computers though. What are you going to do out here? DigiBattle against other Digimon Operators?"  
    Yes, that was a possibility. However, Jenrya was far too timid to get to know the other guys around him.  
"Maybe," replied Jenrya quietly. "No. I'm just going to be hiking, camping, maybe swimming and even playing soccer with the other kids." Well, he hoped that he would be able to play soccer with the other kids. He tended to get left out of games.  
    "Jenrya? Jen is that you?"  
    That voice sounded familiar. The half-Chinese, half-Japanese boy turned his head by forty-five degrees and saw a very familiar face. He had not seen that face in a long time.  
"Takato?" he exclaimed in complete disbelief. He couldn't believe it. Jenrya rose to his feet and looked on in disbelief. It was the same scruffy brown hair, the same blue shirt with the hood, the same beige, three-quarter cargo pants. "I... Man, it's been ages since we've seen each other."  
    He rushed straight towards Takato and greeted the youth with their secret handshake. It was every bit as outrageous as the secret handshakes kids normally come up with and was just as potent.  
"I haven't seen you since you and your parents moved to Inphynitio," stated Jenrya.  
    "Yeah, it's been a long time," agreed Takato with a nod of his head. "How've you been?"  
    "Pretty good," replied Jenrya with a smile. "How's about you?" The look on Takato's face worried him. He had never seen Takato look so worried and nervous before. "Takato, what's wrong?" he asked his old, best friend. Jenrya received no reply from the brown-haired kid.  
    Guilmon, Takato's Digimon, had to answer Jenrya for him.  
"Takato's been bullied lately," replied the fire-style, virus-type Digimon. "There's this girl at camp that likes to pick on kids that are weaker than her."  
    "Ever since I arrived two days ago, she's been picking on me," stated Takato, nearly breaking down into tears.  
    These were the days before Jenrya took up Kung Fu lessons, so he wasn't very confident and nor was he capable of defending his friend from the advances of a bully. It was because of this that Jenrya had nothing to say and no words to comfort his old friend. Jenrya remained silent, unable to think up of a single word. He could not think up of anything to save his friend.  
    The only thing that Jenrya could think up of to say was, "Have you tried staying out of her way?" Yet from the look on Takato's face, Jenrya knew the answer to his own question. He had never seen Takato so miserable before. "Don't you worry, Takato. Stick with me and you'll be all right. She can't possibly beat the both of us up."  


    The brown-haired kid looked towards the dark blue-haired kid with azure blue eyes. He then glanced over towards the brown-haired kid sitting next to the dark blue-haired one and then back towards the dark blue-haired kid. From the talk around camp, he had heard they went by the names of Jenrya and Takato and that Ruki had it in for them. He saw the one called Jenrya look up and then glanced back down at the marshmallow he had toasting near the fire. He didn't want to be caught staring at the kid, after all.  
    "Is something wrong, Ryo?" asked the kid's Digimon.  
    "Shh, be quiet, Monodramon," hissed the brown-haired kid through clenched teeth. The counselors had stated that D-Scanners weren't allowed, yet he had smuggled his in. After all, it was a birthday present that his parents had bought for him and he cherished it very much.  
    "Huh? You say something?" asked the brown-haired girl next to him.  
    Ryo turned round to look at her. Brown hair, brown eyes and a cute smile on her face.  
"Huh? Oh yeah, I was just wondering what happened to those two," stated Ryo quickly, as he gestured discreetly towards Jenrya and Takato.  
    "Those two? Well, Ruki doesn't like them," replied the girl. She sighed. "It's a shame, really. I kind of like the brown-haired one. He's cute." The girl sighed again. "I just hope that he'll be okay. Oh! Yeah, my name's Juri by the way. What's yours?"  
    "Ryo," came the reply.  
    A smile spread across the Juri's face. She then sidled back and gestured towards the blonde girl next to her, a girl whom was dressed in Gothic style black.  
"Ryo, this is my friend, Alice," announced Juri, as she gestured towards the blonde girl. "Alice, this is Ryo." She then glanced back towards Takato and sighed again. Though she was young, about eight years old, she still knew the concept of love.  
    "It's nice to meet you," stated Ryo politely.  
    "Yeah, likewise," replied Alice in a dismissive tone of voice.  
    Ryo felt kind of awkward in the silence that followed. It was the sort of silence that make one wishes that they were somewhere else and not within the silence.  
"So, Alice, what do you think of those two?" he asked. "It's not really fair that they should be hurt like that, right?" Perhaps he should befriend them. After all, he was charismatic enough to have a load of friends (none of whom were at the camp, by the way). "Right?"  
    "I guess that Ruki is a jerk," replied Alice non-chalantly.  
    More silence. Ryo felt awkward again. Juri was staring intently at Takato. Alice was being moody. And Monodramon had to keep quiet or else be confiscated by the counselor. The youth decided to have a look around and see who else was there. Perhaps he could see a familiar face if he looked hard enough. And sure enough, he did. It was that of Ruki and she was glaring at Jenrya and Takato.  
    The brown-haired youth had no idea why Ruki could hate those two, especially someone like Jenrya. Ryo found himself liking Jenrya with every look of the dark-haired youth. He had no idea why. It was like some kind of gut feeling that he and Jenrya would get on very well together.  
    There was suddenly more silence and Ryo found himself being overwhelmed by it. Ryo could remember what his parents had once told him. Find some common ground. He had used that technique with Monodramon and the two of them had become best of friends.  
"So, do either of you have D-Scanners yet?" asked Ryo curiously.  
    "Oh, yeah, I have one," replied Alice. "Do you?" She received a nod in reply. Interesting. "What style and type is your Digimon? Mine's a normal-style, data type. His name's Dobermon."  
    "Mine's a normal-style, vaccine type," replied Ryo. "His name's Monodramon and he's the coolest."  
    Juri laughed.  
"No way!" she protested at Ryo's comment. "My Leomon is the coolest. He's a normal-style, vaccine-type as well, but he kicks arse!" Juri went on to describe how he was strong and quick, brave and wise, and how he wielded one mean looking sword like a pro. "So, when did you get yours?"  
    "A week ago on my birthday," replied Ryo. "You?"  
    "I had to save up money before I could buy mine," replied Juri quietly. "But it was worth it."  
    They continued to discuss their Digimon and to say how theirs was the coolest and greatest. They even went on to discuss what DMDs each one had and which was their favourite ones. Ryo liked the Goliath DMD. Alice liked the Cannonball DMD. Juri liked the Hyper Speed DMD.  
    "Your DMDs are all weak," exclaimed Alice, as she heard Juri's list.  
    The girl shook her head with a smug smile on her face.  
"No they're not," she said. "Let me tell you a secret. There's a glitch in the DMD System not many people know about. If you activate certain DMDs in a certain order, they'll merge into one bigger and more powerful DMD." She saw the incredulous look on their faces. "It's true!" They still looked at her funny. "Look, I'll prove it to you," stated Juri sternly. "If either of you have your D-Scanner with you, let's have a duel."  
    Ryo looked sideways towards the counselor.  
"Are you nuts?" he asked her. "He'd confiscate them if we brought them out now."  
    "You're right," agreed Juri with a nod of her head. "How's about we have a DigiBattle later tonight, after lights out?"  
    "Yeah, sure," agreed Ryo with a nod of his head. Out of the corner, he saw Ruki rise up from her seat. 'I wonder what she's up to?' he thought quietly to himself, as he watched Ruki walk straight towards Jenrya and Takato. He really wanted to rise up and defend the two, but he found that for such a small girl she cut a rather formidable figure. "I hope those two will be all right," he found himself muttering under his breath.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

    Ryo opened the door for Jenrya and ushered Jen in first. The two entered and were greeted with a rather sour looking bunch of friends.  
    "Well, if it isn't the love birds," said Ruki bitterly, giving the two of them only a peripheral glance out of the corner of her half-lidded eyes. "I bet you're loving this, aren't you?"  
    Jenrya looked at Ruki and then towards Takato and then at Alice. This was insane. They had agreed to meet in a little ice cream shop in the Administrative Region of Inphynitio, which happened to be in between the Administrative Regions of Spyrol and Dyjitopia. He had technically come all the way from a neighbouring administrative region to visit Takato and Ruki and this was how he was being welcomed?  
"What's her problem?" he asked Takato.  
    "Ruki's being difficult, again," replied Takato.  
    It was times like these when Ryo wished that they would just meet in a chat room and talk to each other there. But no... they had to meet each other physically in the Real World.  
"Being difficult?" he asked.  
    "Takato's the one that's being difficult," snapped Ruki sharply. "He's so thick he forgot our anniversary."  
    This got a frown from Ryo. Anniversary? He could have sworn that Ruki wasn't the type to care about that sort of thing, but apparently he was very wrong. Ryo wanted to point out that she didn't seem to be the type that cared about anniversaries, but after taking another look at her, he decided that would have been the worst possible option. He merely turned round to look at Jenrya with a frown on his face and then back towards the others.  
    "This is going to be difficult," sighed Jenrya.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

    "This is going to be difficult," sighed Jenrya, as he sat within the bed. He shared a bunkbed with Takato and was graciously given the top bunk by Takato. "We can't face Ruki." She had demanded them to meet by the lakeside. There, she would pound the snot out of them. "She'll cream us."  
    Takato lay awake on the top bunk, staring up at the wooden ceiling of the cabin house.  
"Yeah, but if we don't go, we'll be branded cowards by the rest of the camp," stated Takato. "Even worse, she may come after us."  


    The stars twinkled brightly in the night sky above her. Juri looked up and sighed. It was such a beautiful night sky and yet, even though the moon and stars shone brightly in the velvet of the night sky, her home– the Orbital Space Ring, did not shine. She would have thought that such a peaceful place like the Orbital Space Ring and its four administrative regions would have shone just as brightly.  
    "Do you think they'll show up?" asked Juri, as she sat there in the darkness.  
    "I'm sure they will," replied Leomon, her Digimon. "I could hear a curiosity in their voices, a determination to challenge for a challenge. They'll come."  
    Suddenly, Juri heard a rustling of leaves. She stood up and turned her head to face the direction of the noise and waited. The period of silence was agony. It was almost as if fate had decided to draw out the length of the night towards infinity. She hated that. The girl saw two boys emerge and not one amongst them was Ryo. Juri recognised them, however. She recognised them as Jenrya and Takato.

**_To be continued..._**


	5. Transmission 04: Tomodachi no Umi

**Digimon(2).EXE**

**By Wolf O'Donnell**

WARNING! May contain Alternative Universe situations and out-of-character experiences. Upon reading this, you hereby agree that you forfeit all your rights to sue me and that I cannot be held liable for any psychological or physical damage caused by the fact that I use British English spelling and that this fanfic contains NO graphic depictions of a heterosexual and homosexual nature. Digimon is copyrighted by Bandai and Toei Animation Ltd. Wolf O'Donnell is copyrighted by Nintendo Ltd, although that might have nothing to do with the fanfic. Digimon(2).EXE is based on Rockman.EXE, which is copyrighted by Capcom Ltd. Constructive criticism is very welcome.

* * * * *

Transmission 04: Tomodachi no Umi  
    The four friends were plunged into silence once again. The situation between Takato and Ruki made conversation difficult and was darkening their one time together. It was rare that they met and this time was as rare as any other.  
    Jenrya thought quietly about the first time they all met together on the Summer Camp down on the Earth's surface in the nation known as Namerica. The cause of their problems then had once again been Ruki, except that time, she was going to beat the living daylights out of him and Takato.  
"Say, you remember when we all first met?" he asked, hoping that memories of their past would help break the ice. "We all had our Digimon with us, even though the camp counselor forbade us from having them."  
    "Oh yeah, I remember!" exclaimed Alice in sudden realisation. "He was so into communing with nature, hugging trees and doing his business outdoors."  
    Ryo laughed.  
"Yeah, I know," he chuckled. Then Ryo attempted his impression of the camp counselor, which he knew they all loved. "You either commune with nature and become one with the dirt, or I make you eat the dirt." This brought out all the laughs that it used to when he first came up with the unflattering impression. "He was some kind of outdoors nutball."  
    "Oh and remember when he taught us to make snares?" asked Takato. "Remember how Ruki made hers and caught him in it?"  
    The moody expression on Ruki's face cleared up like clouds to reveal the sunlight that was her smile. She remembered that well and never had she heard so many swear words come from one mouth in a space of fifteen seconds.  
"Yeah, I remember that," replied Ruki with a nod of her head. "You remember when we also made that pit-trap and tricked him into it?"  
    "How can I ever forget?" retorted Takato, as he wiped a tear from his eye. "Boy were we a couple of monkeys back then."  
    "Who said we still aren't?" stated Jenrya. "Just yesterday, Ryo glued our shop teacher's butt to his seat and when the teacher went to stand up, he ripped his trousers. He had to wear his apron on backwards the whole day."  
    Takato sighed, as he looked down at his soda. The smile disappared from his face.  
"It's a shame Juri isn't here," stated Takato, as he thought about the girl. As far as he could remember, she was doing lots and lots of community service as punishment for her betrayal of the Officials at Beijing. "She would have loved being here and just chatting about the old times. Say, Alice, are you still in touch with her?"  
    "Yeah," replied Alice with a nod of her head. "She says that she'll be let off soon."  
    "I don't understand," stated Ruki with a shake of her head. "Why are you so concerned about her? She nearly killed you, Takato!"  
    "She was doing it to protect her home, Ruki," stated Takato in Juri's defence. "If you had been in her shoes, you would have done the same thing. Hypnos was threatening to destroy Phyle." He had never realised that Ruki was so inconsiderate and uncaring. Of course, she had seemed that way to him when he first met her in the Summer Camp, but now... "I thought you changed, but it seems as if you're still the big, dumb bully you used to be."  
    Ruki glared at Takato with an open mouth. She couldn't believe that the brown-haired youth had called him that.  
"You take that back!" demanded Ruki sternly.  
    Alice sighed.  
"Here we go again."

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

    Jenrya suddenly realised that they were in the wrong place.  
"Oh, I'm sorry," apologised Jenrya quickly, as he backed out of the clearing.  
    "No, don't go," protested Juri. She gestured for them to come closer with her. "Come back." Juri wanted to speak to them. Most importantly, she wanted to speak to Takato and tell him how she liked him. "What are you two doing out here so late?" she asked the two of them. "It's Ruki, isn't it? That bully wanted you out here, didn't she?"  
    Takato nodded silently.  
"She found out that we've got D-Scanners and now she wants to DigiBattle against us," he told Juri. He didn't know why he did so. The youth wasn't supposed to tell anyone, yet somehow he felt compelled to tell Juri. It was as if she was like some big sister to him, a big sister that would help make things all better.  
    "Takato," scolded Jenrya quickly. "You weren't supposed to tell anyone. If Ruki..."  
    "No, it's all right," stated Juri. "I won't tell anyone." She looked towards Takato and for the first time, she noticed how feeble he looked. For the first time, she saw the true nervousness that was within him. "So, have you got any good DMDs?" she asked them. "Some pretty good DMDs can really give you the advantage."  
    "Well, I've got a Trump Sword DMD," replied Takato calmly. He then told Juri about the rest of the DMDs he had installed on his D-Scanner. Each one of them he had managed to get from InphyNet, with the exception of the Trump Sword DMD, which he had got from his dad. "My Dad owns a 'DigiModify Chip Shop', you see," he explained to her.  
    "That's pretty much what I've got too," stated Jenrya calmly. He figured that it wouldn't harm to talk to this girl before Ruki beat the living daylights out of their Digimon. "I've got a Berserk Sword DMD, though, but that's about it." Jenrya suddenly realised that he hadn't introduced himself properly and nor had Takato. His father had taught him that that was just plain rude and he decided to introduce himself before she took offence. "My name's Jenrya by the way and this is Takato. It's nice to meet you."  
    A smile spread across Juri's face.  
"My name's Juri," she told them. "It's nice to meet you two, as well, especially after I heard what Ruki did to you two. That was just plain horrible of her." An idea suddenly popped into her mind. "Say, when are you supposed to meet her?" she asked them.  
    "Midnight," replied Jenrya.  
    Juri raised her D-Scanner and pressed a button on it. The screen lit up and displayed the time to her.  
"Leomon, you mind if I borrow some of your data?" she asked her Digimon.  
    "Of course not, Juri," came the reply.  
    Jenrya saw that the girl had a plan. Takato was too dense to see that, but luckily Jenrya was there.  
"So have you got a plan?" he asked her. At that moment in time, he was desperate for a solution. Any solution to their problem would have done and he would have done anything to save his own hide and that of Takato's and their Digimon.  
    "As a matter of fact, I do," replied Juri with a devious smile on her face.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

    "If it hadn't been for Juri, Guilmon would ahve never beaten Renamon," stated Takato. "In fact, if it wasn't for Juri, we wouldn't know each other."  
    Ruki scoffed at Takato's comments.  
"That had nothing to do with it," she stated. She could remember how she had went to the clearing, only to find it jam-packed with campers. Juri had rounded up everyone she could think of, including Alice and Ryo. "I was just nervous DigiBattling against you with that crowd watching."  
    "Yeah, right," said Takato sarcastically.  
    "I'll prove it!" cried out Ruki, as she brought out her D-Tector. "Let's have a DigiBattle, right here, right now!"  
    "You're on!" stated Takato sternly, as he brought out his D-Tector too. "Guilmon, let's rock!"

* * * * *

    "Aw, do I have to?" protested Guilmon, as he suddenly found himself within a six-by-three tile DigiBattle Arena. "I was having this really good dream about chasing a..." He then realised what he was about to say and decided to keep quiet about it. "So who am I fighting?" he asked and then he saw a data stream touch down and Renamon appear in front of him. "Oh."  
    DigiBattle Arenas are divided into two sections, one red and one blue, each three by three tiles large. One Digimon stays in the red area and the other stays in the blue area. A Digimon cannot step outside of their designated area, but can increase their area with DMDs or can leap in or fly into the opponent's area to attack. At the beginning of a DigiBattle, each Operator selects a number of DMDs or waits for a better combination to appear. These DMDs can be used straight away or saved strategically for later. The objective was to keep fighting until one surrendered or until one lost all his/her health points (HP).  
    That was what Guilmon was waiting for; for Takato to select the DMDs.  
    "You ready, Guilmon?" asked Takato.  
    The Digimon nodded in reply.  
"I'm ready, Takato," he told his Operator. Guilmon looked ahead of him and wondered when was the last time he fought against Renamon. Wasn't it in Summer Camp, all those years ago? "Let's get this on."  
    "I'm ready," Renamon replied to her Operator.  
    "All right! Let's go!"  
    Guilmon started off by inhaling sharply and spat out a Pyro Sphere attack. It missed. He leapt sideways on to the next tile, narrowly avoiding a massive storm of diamond shards that would have pierced his digital, scaly hide. The virus-type Digimon ran towards the edge of his area and leapt, clearing the boundary between the red and blue areas and landing on Renamon's side. He swung his claws out at her and that was all the time he was allowed to be there, before the rules of the DigiBattle Arena kicked in and an algorithm pulled him back to the centre tile of his area of the Arena.

* * * * *

    "Ha! Is that the best you can do?" taunted Ruki. She looked at the small screen of her D-Tector. It displayed graphics that were not unlike that of a Gameboy Advance, and she could clearly see the battle. "You haven't hit my Renamon once."  
    Takato looked up at her.  
"You haven't hit Guilmon once," he retorted and that wiped the smile off her face.  
    Ruki decided that she wouldn't lose this time round. She would beat Takato this time and show them all that she was the best Digimon Operator there was.  
"Yeah, but that'll soon change," she told him. "DigiModify– Endigo1 activate!" She watched as cracks appeared in all the tiles of the DigiBattle Arena. "DigiModify– Hyper Wing activate!" Ruki knew that once a cracked tile is stepped on, it would break after the Digimon steps off of it.  
    That was why she always used the Endigo1 DMD in association with the Hyper Wing activate, which allowed Renamon to hover over the holes that broken tiles leave.  
    The auburn-haired girl watched as wave after wave of Renamon's attacks shot out towards Guilmon. The virus-type Digimon didn't have a chance against her data-type. Ruki could use as many DMDs on her Digimon as she wanted and that was a real advantage.  
"So, Takato, what do you say we make this interesting?" asked Ruki. "If I win, you become my personal little slave for the entire week."  
    "And if I win?" asked Takato determinedly. He received no reply. "How's about if I win, we get back together?" The glare he received from Ruki made him wonder whether he had overstepped his boundaries.  
    "Fine, if you win, we get back together," she agreed.  
    Takato glanced back down at his D-Tector. He had to ditch the DMDs he had selected in order to select one that would Guilmon. The youth knew that he had to reselect those DMDs later on if he was to create the special Combo he had learnt from Juri back in Summer Camp. It was the same Combo he had used to defeat Renamon back in those days and he hoped that it would still work.  
"Keep in there, Guilmon," he muttered to his Digimon friend. "DigiModify– Repair activate." He watched as the holes in the arena suddenly disappeared and were replaced with tiles again.  
    "That's not going to help you, Takato," stated Ruki, as she pressed a few more buttons. "DigiModify– Hyper Cannon activate. DigiModify– Giga Cannon activate. DigiModify– Supreme Cannon activate!" She watched as these three Cannon DMDs then merged into one more powerful DMD, the Omega Cannon. "DigiModify– Omega Cannon activate!" Ruki watched the screen, as Renamon's right hand turned into a cannon and the Digimon fired repeatedly at Guilmon.  
    This reminded Takato too much of his first DigiBattle against Ruki. It was a terrifying one and he could remember it still as if it was yesterday.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

    All around him, the crowd of campers cheered on. It was just him against Ruki. Even with the knowledge of the Combo, Takato felt as if he couldn't compete against the bully. None of the right DMDs were selected. If he deselected the DMDs, then he would not be able to reselect the ones he needed for a long time.  
    That time was represented by the gauge at the top of his D-Scanner's screen and it was only a third of the way full. Takato looked up at Ruki. She had a smug smile on her face, as she knew she was going to win. He couldn't say the same for Guilmon. It looked as if his Digimon was on his last legs.  
"Hang on in there, Guilmon," he whispered to his Digimon. "DigiModify– Heal activate." He hoped that the Heal DMD would help Guilmon last for much longer.  
    "Give it up, goggle-head," taunted Ruki. She had been calling him that beause of the goggles he had on during the swimming sessions. Ruki thought they looked dorky and made Takato look just as stupid. "DigiModify– Tankmon's Hyper Cannon activate!"  
    "Go on, Takato, I know you can do it!" shouted Juri over the cheer of the other kids.  
    "Yeah, you can do it!" cheered on Jenrya. He was bumped into. "Hey, watch it!" he protested at the brown-haired kid next to him.  
    "Sorry," apologised Ryo.  
    Ruki's smile widened, as she saw Guilmon take a direct hit.  
"Hear that, shrimp?" asked Ruki meanly. "They're all cheering, but that's not going to do you any good. You're a loser and you'll fail. They'll be so disappointed in you, but that's what they got for supporting a loser." She lowered her gaze back down at her D-Scanner. "Renamon, finish him off."  
    "Yes, ma'am," replied Renamon.  
    "Takato, when are those DMDs coming?" asked Guilmon.  
    "Soon," replied Takato abruptly. He watched as Renamon launched another wide-sweeping Diamond Storm attack. It hit Guilmon. Takato winced at the sight of it. This was not supposed to happen. He was supposed to use the Combo that Juri had taught him. It was supposed to have taken Renamon out in one blow. "Guilmon!" he cried, as Renamon leapt over to Guilmon's side of the Arena and kicked the virus-type Digimon backwards.  
    Takato watched in disbelief as Guilmon's HP dropped down to 10. This was not good.  
"Guilmon, you've got to avoid her for now!" cried Takato, as he kept his eye on the gauge. It was over three-quarters of the way full now and it wouldn't be long before he could select the necessary DMDs that would wipe the floor with Renamon's furry butt. "We're nearly there."  
    The gauge was full and the D-Scanner vibrated to announce that.  
    "All right!" exclaimed Takato. "You're going down, Ruki! DigiModify– Berserk Sword activate. DigiModify– Trump Sword activate. DigiModify– Leomon's Fist of the Beast King activate!" He watched and saw that what Juri had taught him was correct. There was a glitch in the DMD system and all the three DMDs he had selected were merging together into one that was called... "DigiModify– Double Hero activate!"  
    Ruki watched in disbelief as Guilmon split into two Digimon, one Guilmon and the other Leomon. Both Digimon attacked Renamon furiously and Ruki watched in disbelief as Renamon's HP was slashed down to zero.  
"No!" she screamed, as Renamon was suddenly deleted.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

    "Oh no!" cried Takato, as he looked at his D-Tector. Guilmon had been deleted. Luckily for him, he had a back-up copy of Guilmon still in the D-Tector, so Guilmon wasn't truly dead.  
    Ruki should have been smiling smugly, but no smile graced her lips. She just looked at Takato with a look of disbelief on her face. 'He had the Double Hero Combo, so why didn't he use it?' she wondered quietly to herself. Takato could have defeated her in a matter of seconds, seeing as how Renamon's HP levels were still as low as they had been when Takato first used the Double Hero Combo against her.  
    Takato sighed.  
"I guess that makes me your slave for a week," stated Takato.  
    "Nah, the bet's off," said Ruki with a shake of his head. Takato seemed a little bit too happy for someone whom had lost a DigiBattle and a bet. 'So he threw the match, huh?' she thought. 'I guess he's not as dumb as he looks after all.' She smiled at him. "I'm sorry for snapping at you," she apologised to the youth.  
    "I'm sorry for forgetting the anniversary of our first kiss," stated Takato.  
    Alice couldn't believe it. They had been fighting only a few seconds ago and now it had come to this? A reconciliation? She began to wonder why they didn't kiss and make up a lot sooner, but then she decided not to. After all, it was not for her to understand this strange couple.  
    "How's about another sundae, one for just the two of us?" suggested Takato.  
    "Another one?" exclaimed Ruki in complete disbelief. "Man, you eat like a pig!"  
    "Well, I guess not then," chuckled Takato good-naturedly.

**_To be continued..._**


	6. Transmission 05: Asu e wo Doa Tatake

**Digimon(2).EXE**

**By Wolf O'Donnell**

WARNING! May contain Alternative Universe situations and out-of-character experiences. Upon reading this, you hereby agree that you forfeit all your rights to sue me and that I cannot be held liable for any psychological or physical damage caused by the fact that I use British English spelling and that this fanfic contains NO graphic depictions of a heterosexual and homosexual nature. Digimon is copyrighted by Bandai and Toei Animation Ltd. Wolf O'Donnell is copyrighted by Nintendo Ltd, although that might have nothing to do with the fanfic. Digimon(2).EXE is based on Rockman.EXE, which is copyrighted by Capcom Ltd. Constructive criticism is very welcome.

* * * * *

Transmission 05: Asu e no Doa wo Tatake  
    "This is Rosa Maridonna, reporting to you live from Biyo Town where there's been a new outbreak of the mysterious computer virus, dubbed Darkspore," announced the reporter on television. She was a Latino girl with brown hair and tanned skin, wearing a Gotsumon hat. She was holding a microphone with a little sign on it with the letters DNN, which stood for Digital New Network. "The computer virus, Darkspore, somehow infiltrates the Digimon's natural DIS or Digital Immune System and infects the Digimon."  
    Takato's mother, a brown-haired woman, looked up from her counter to look at the television screen that hung in the corner of the shop.  
"My that's terrible," she stated, as she listened to the reporter. "At least there's none of that horrible virus over here in Rail Town."  
    "Digimon infected with Darkspore will suffer from green, circuit-like patterns on their exterior," continued Rosa, "and will eventually sprout purple flowers from their heads. These flowers will spread the virus, so Operators are advised to keep their Digimon well away from infected Digimon. If your Digimon is suffering from these symptoms, please take them to the nearest Digimon Hospital ASAP!"  
    The brown-haired youth at the counter nodded in agreement.  
"Yeah, I heard that all of S.AmeriSquare's been quarantined because of Darkspore," stated the youth, as he held his D-Tector out in front of the cash register. A few seconds later, the monetary transaction had been made.  
    "Thank you," thanked Takato's mother with a big smile on her face, as she handed a bag to the youth. "Please come again."  
    "Tadaima!" announced Takato, as he came in through the back door.  
    "Takato!" exclaimed Takato's mother, before she rushed up towards the brown-haired youth and hugged him tightly. "Your Principal just phoned me about what happened at school. Are you okay?"  
    Takato felt as if his mother was trying to suffocate him. Her hold on him would have put a so-called death grip to shame.  
"I'm fine, mum," he told her, as he tried to shift into a more comfortable position within his mother's embrace. "Mum, would you mind not hugging me so tight?" he asked her. "I can't breathe!" He also had a feeling that if this continued, his D-Tector might break and he certainly didn't want that!  
    "Really, Yoshi, dear, you mustn't suffocate him like that," stated Takato's father, as he walked past the two carrying a seemingly very heavy box. "He's a grown boy now. Our very own hero! Defeater of Criminal Digimon and Destroyer of Viruses!"  
    Red creeped across the cheeks of Takato's face.  
"Dad," he protested at his father's words. His parents thought very highly of him ever since they found out he had been involved in the deletion of the Juggernaut Virus.  
    "It's such a shame that practically no knows that you deleted the Juggernaut Virus," sighed Takato's father, as he took the box out to the front and placed it on a shelf. "Everyone thinks the DEVAs destroyed it, but you know, I don't trust those DEVAs at all. There's something fishy about them. Give me the Officials any day."  
    "Takehiro, honey, don't forget that our son is a DEVA Cadet," said Takato's mother. "And look how well he's turned out."  
    The phone suddenly rang. Takato seemed to be the closest one to it.  
"I'll get it!" he announced, and picked the phone up. "Hello, Matsuda Electronics Store, how may I help you? Huh, Ryo? He's in hospital?" He couldn't believe what he was hearing. It seemed almost impossible. He had never known Ryo to be hospitalised. "Oh, sure. I'll go check with my parents, first." He lowered the phone, covering the receiver and turned to them. "Mom, Dad, can I go visit Ryo? He's in Palm Town Hospital."  
    For a while, Takato received no reply. He just looked at his parents looking at each other. The youth began to wonder whether they would let him. Why shouldn't they, though? It was, after all, Friday.  
    "Sure, you can, son," replied Takehiro, "just you be real careful, okay?"  
    "Oh, and Takato, I want you to promise me something," called out Yoshi.  
    "Yeah, mom?"  
    "Please don't be wreckless, okay?" she pleaded to Takato. "There's some kind of nasty computer virus out there, so don't go plugging your D-Tector in willy nilly."  
    Takato nodded in reply.  
"I won't, Mum," promised Takato solemnly.  
    "And bring Ryo a gift," stated Yoshi. "It's just good manners."  
    "Can I bring him something from the shop?" asked Takato curiously.  
    "I don't see why not," replied Takehiro, as he looked around him. "Tell you what, why don't you give him this Leaf Shield Modify Chip?" He took one from off the display and handed it to Takato. "I'm sure he'll appreciate, after all, it's the thought that counts."  
    Takato took it into his hands and looked at it carefully.  
"Er... thanks, Dad," thanked Takato. "Well, I've got to change out of this uniform first." He turned round and then ran upstairs to his room, not wanting to take too long.  


    Large palm trees lined the roadside that led to Palm Town Hospital. It was a very large and very elaborate hospital surrounded with parks. Somewhere above the hospital was a group of people working on the huge neon lights of the Orbital Space Ring's ceiling.  
    A red bus made its way across the road. It was fully automated like all public transport on the Earth and up in the Orbital Space Ring. It chugged quietly along the road and then stopped at a bus stop. The doors opened and Takato got off. He looked around him.  
    "Takato, there you are!" exclaimed a voice.  
    "Say, isn't that Jenrya?" asked Guilmon, upon hearing the voice.  
    Takato turned round and saw a youth with blue-black hair running up towards him. He smiled, as he raised a hand and waved towards the approaching youth.  
"Hey, Jenrya!" he called out to the approaching kid. "Long time no see!"  
    "Yeah," agreed Jenrya with a nod of his head. "Say, you like my jacket?" he asked Takato, gesturing towards the orange, sleeveless jacket. "Bought it recently," he announced.  
    For a while, Takato didn't say a thing.  
"Well, it's very orange," he said hesitantly. It wasn't bad, but the orange nature of the jacket really did put him off. "Very, very orange," he added.  
    "I told him he shouldn't buy it, but no... he didn't listen to me," said Terriermon from Jenrya's D-Tector. "Never listens to me."  
    A smile spread across Jenrya's lips upon hearing that comment.  
"That's coz none of your advice ever works," he retorted in a playful manner. "Besides, most of the time you're too rude to listen to." He turned to look at the large clock on the face of the hospital. It was getting late. "Come on, let's get going before visiting hours end," he suggested. He turned round before Takato could get a word in. "Race you!" he called out, before he ran for it.  
    "Hey, no fair!" protested Takato at Jenrya's head start. He ran after his friend, not wanting to be beaten to the hospital before Jenrya.  
    "I win!" announced Jenrya, as he reached the entrance. It was an easy race and he wasn't out of breath, unlike someone he could mention. "Takato, man, you're out of shape," he laughed at Takato's ragged breath.  
    Takato grumbled something rude underneath his breath, making his Digimon gasp in complete astonishment. He quickly unhooked his D-Tector from his waistband and shoved it deep into one of his pockets before Guilmon could say a word.  
"Yeah, so are we going to stand out here or go in and see Ryo?" he asked Jenrya, quickly changing the subject.  
    "You're right," agreed Jenrya with a nod of his head. "So, let's go in." He was the first one to walk in naturally and was taken back by the state of the hospital. It was so... nice. The place wasn't as he had expected it to be, cold and sterile. "Hi, we're here to see Ryo Akiyama," announced Jenrya, as he walked up to the receptionist. "We're friends of his."  
    While Jenrya sorted that out, Takato decided to check out the vending machines. He looked at the selection of candy bars available. There wasn't anything much in there.  
"Tofu Bars?" he exclaimed in complete shock. Surely not! A candy bar made entirely from tofu? It seemed so healthy it was unnatural. "There must be something else in here."  
    "Takato!" called out Jenrya from the receptionist's desk. "Come on! We can go up and see Ryo now!"  
    "Oh, yeah, I'm coming!" called out Takato, before he ran over to join Jenrya and the nurse that stood beside the dark-haired boy.  
    A smile spread across the nurse's face. She was a kindly looking nurse with brown hair and a dash of makeup around her face. On one of her lapels was an ID badge with her name– Mimi Tachikawa– and her face on it.  
"Hello there," she greeted the two boys. "You're Takato, right? Ryo has been talking quite a lot about you. The Great Destroyers of the Juggernaut Virus! Fancy that!"  
    "He told you about that?" asked Jenrya in complete disbelief. That was supposed to be classified information. "No one's supposed to know about that," protested Jenrya. "When I get my hands on him..."  
    The nurse laughed.  
"There's no need to get angry with him," she told them. "No one else knows and I haven't told anyone about you two, so your secret's pretty safe. Still, I don't quite understand why the DEVAs are keeping that info locked up like that. Are they afraid it will tarnish their image?" She shook her head. "Oh well, let me take you to see, Ryo."  
    Jenrya and Takato followed the nurse into a lift and were taken up to the fourth floor. There, they wound their way through a seemingly maze-like network of corridors. Every turn confused the two young boys, until they had no idea from which direction they had come from and in which direction they were going.  
    "We're here!" announced Nurse Mimi, as she led them into a large hall with several beds lined up in a row. "Ryo, you have a visitor!"  
    The youth in the bed had brown hair, which was almost of the same colour as Takato's, only slightly darker. His blue eyes were dull, but suddenly lit up like sapphires upon seeing Jenrya.  
"Hi, Jen!" he greeted the dark, blue-black haired youth. "Hi, Takato!" he greeted, upon suddenly noticing that he had two visitors.  
    "I missed you," stated Jenrya, as he went over and sat down on the edge of Ryo's bed. He looked over to the cast on Ryo's right foot and at the names scrawled all over it. "I see you're pretty popular."  
    "You haven't been flirting with other guys while I've been gone, have you?" asked Ryo playfully.  
    Takato hated it whenever they talked like that. He wasn't some sort of homophobe, but their conversations did make him feel really uncomfortable.  
"Ryo, I brought you a gift," announced Takato, as soon as Jenrya and Ryo were done with their flirts. "I thought you'd be doing nothing but DigiBattling with other patients, so I brought you a Modify Chip. It's a Leaf Shield."  
    "Oh, cool!" exclaimed Ryo with a clap of his hands. "I just lost my only Leaf Shield in a match with the nurse. Man, is she tough."  
    "The nurse?" exclaimed Jenrya in surprise. "You mean, the one that brought us to you? Nurse Mimi?" He received a silent nod in reply. "No way! She beat you in a DigiBattle!" he cried out in disbelief. "She doesn't look like much of a DigiBattler," he stated.  
    "Why? Is that because you think DigiBattling's only for guys?"  
    Jenrya turned around and double-taked.  
"Oh, Alice," said Jenrya in startled manner, "didn't expect to see you here so far from home. What are you doing here in Dyjitopia?"  
    "What, can't I see a friend too?" asked Alice in reply. Sure, it was a long way from Spyrol, her home section of the Orbital Ring, but it was still worth it. "So, Ryo, you feeling okay?"  
    "Sure, I'm fine," replied Ryo with a nod of his head. "Oh, flowers! How nice."  
    "Say, can we sign your cast?" asked Takato curiously. He couldn't resist the temptation, after all, other's peoples names had graced that rough, white surface. He even spotted Ruki's name somewhere on it and wanted to place his right next to hers.  
    A devious grin spread across Jenrya's face upon the mention of signing.  
"Say, Ryo, do you think I could sign something else other than your cast?" he asked his friend. He raised his eyebrows twice in a silent, yet very meaningful gesture and then winked once.  
    "Hentai!" laughed Ryo.  


    "Your Excellency, sir!"  
    "What is it?"  
    "Your Excellency, Lord Myotis, those DEVA Cadets are here; the ones that destroyed the Hypnos Organisation. They're here in the hospital."  
    "Then seal them in and get rid of them!"  
    "Yes, Your Excellency. It shall be done."  
    "Oh, and what about the Black Gear?" asked His Excellency curiously. "Have you found it, yet?"  
    "Yes, sir," came the reply. "It has already been sent to you."  


    "Man, that took us a long time," sighed Takato, as they finally stepped out of the lift. "I swear, this place is like some kind of maze."  
    "Shouldn't you phone mom and dad to tell them where you are?" asked Guilmon from his D-Tector. "I mean, it is getting late, after all."  
    Takato realised that Guilmon was right.  
"Yeah, I'd better phone them," he agreed with a nod of his head, as he fished his D-Tector out of his pocket. "They're probably worried sick by now." He dialled a number on the keypad and then placed his D-Tector up to his ear like a phone. Takato waited. "Hi, Dad! Just wanted to call you to say I'm okay. Yeah, I kind of got lost inside the hospital but I'm on my way home now."  
    "No, we're not," argued Jenrya with a shake of his head. He saw that the entrance to the hospital had been blocked by shutters and that there was also a crowd of very angry people around the receptionist's desk. "Something tells me we're going to be here for quite some time."  
    "Oh no," whined Takato miserably, as his arms went limp to his side. "Now I'm going to miss tonight's DigiBattle Match!" He raised his D-Tector back up to his ear. "Dad, scratch that," he told his father. "There's some lock-down on the hospital. I can't even get out now." He pulled the D-Tector away from his ear, as his father shouted in some kind of rage. "Dad, take it easy. I'm not deaf, you know. Well, yeah, okay, I'll be fine. Okay, I'll phone you the moment I can get out, okay? Okay, bye."  
    "So, are we stuck here?" asked Guilmon curiously.  
    "Maybe," replied Takato in an unsure manner.  
    "I've just had a talk with the staff," announced Alice, as she walked back to Jenrya and Takato. "Apparently, there's some sort of malfunction with the hospital's computer networks and the entire place is in lockdown. Even the Digimon can't get out."  
    A smile spread across Takato's face. Now this was the sort of thing he liked.  
"Well, I guess it's lucky for them that we've got three DEVA Cadets in the hospital, eh?" he stated smugly. He couldn't wait to have a shot at fixing the network. "You up for this, Guilmon?" he asked his Digimon.  
    "You bet!" came the Digimon's reply.  
    "Hey, if Guilmon's going, then so am I!" announced Terriermon.  
    "No way," protested Jenrya angrily. "Takato, are you nuts? This is no time for us to go acting around like heroes. We're only cadets." Ever since more powerful viruses had emerged in the Digital World, Jenrya had been fearful for his Digimon's safety. Look at Terriermon, for example. He had been at Mega level only a month ago, but a virus had seen to that. "We can't go putting our Digimon into the hospital network. The networks of hospitals are pretty heavily defended. If something goes wrong with the hospital network, then that means something is very, very wrong. Our Digimon won't stand a chance!"  
    Terriermon couldn't believe what he was hearing from his Operator.  
"Mo mantai, Jenrya," he told his Operator. "Don't you have faith in us? We can handle any viruses that come our way."  
    "I don't know..." began Jenrya, trailing off at the end. "I guess you could..."  
    "All right!" exclaimed Terriermon. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go!"

**_To be continued..._**


	7. Transmission 06: Himawari

**Digimon(2).EXE**

**By Wolf O'Donnell**

WARNING! May contain Alternative Universe situations and out-of-character experiences. Upon reading this, you hereby agree that you forfeit all your rights to sue me and that I cannot be held liable for any psychological or physical damage caused by the fact that I use British English spelling and that this fanfic contains NO graphic depictions of a heterosexual and homosexual nature. Digimon is copyrighted by Bandai and Toei Animation Ltd. Wolf O'Donnell is copyrighted by Nintendo Ltd, although that might have nothing to do with the fanfic. Digimon(2).EXE is based on Rockman.EXE, which is copyrighted by Capcom Ltd. Constructive criticism is very welcome.

Author's Note: One of you has revealed one of my surprises in the reviews, namely the identity of the Dragon Syndicate Leader. True, the description of the Leader in Transmission 02 was a big give away, but I still don't want you spoiling surprises for newbies. (They might look at the reviews before reading my fanfic to decide whether it's worth reading or not).  
So, please do not give away secrets and surprises in your reviews. Thank you.

* * * * *

Transmission 06: Himawari  
    Three beams of light struck the floor and in their place appeared Dobermon, Guilmon and Terriermon. Dobermon looked like a gigantic doberman and Terriermon looked like some kind of long-eared rabbit plush toy with patches of green in his cream fur. These three stood in the hospital network, which consisted of terminals that looked like metallic trays and paths that looked like scalpels, all of which floated in a sky that looked like screensaver of red crosses.  
    "Hey, look over there!" exclaimed Terriermon, as he pointed to a path in the distance. "It looks as if grass is growing all over that path."  
    Dobermon could also see it.  
"Perhaps that's why the network's acting up," he suggested in a growling voice. "We should split up and check the place out."  
    "That's not a good idea," protested Jenrya's voice. "You should stick together, just in case something bad happens."  
    Terriermon laughed at Jenrya's suggestion. Something bad happen to him? Not likely.  
"Yeah, like what?" he asked with a chuckle. Suddenly, he raised his ears. He thought he heard something. "What the Heck is that?" he wondered out loud, before he was suddenly bowled over by a virus. "Ah, get it off of me!"  
    Guilmon rushed towards the virus and swept it off of Terriermon with a claw. He saw it clearly. The thing looked a light green sphere with two stubby arms and a small sapling growing out of its head. This was a WoodGoblin.2413 virus. A smile spread across his lips. He could easily deal with a wood-style virus, what with him being a fire-style Digimon. He inhaled sharply and spat out a sphere of fire at the virus. Seconds later, it was deleted.  
    "Hey, we got a WoodGoblin1 DMD!" exclaimed Takato happily.  
    "This is not the time to be boasting about the DMDs you managed to get," chided Jenrya.  
    "He's right," agreed Terriermon, who was embarrassed about having to be saved by such an easy-to-defeat virus. "If there's viruses in the network, then something's very wrong. There aren't supposed to be viruses in a hospital computer network. That's just plain dangerous. What if it got into a life support system?"  
    It was agreed then. The three Digimon ran along the path in the hope of getting to the bottom of the situation. Suddenly, grass grew underneath their feet and the path became covered in the stuff.  
    "What's going on?"  
    "Unauthorised Digimon in network," announced a feminine voice. "Activate NetGuard1. Copyrighted 176PA ShibuCorp."  
    A huge sunflower suddenly sprouted up from the ground. Its stem curled round like some snake and the Digimon noticed that coiled up within its vines was a white object, which had stubby arms and large eyes. The sunflower bent over and began spitting out sunflower seeds at them.  
    Guilmon dived out of the way, as the seeds smashed into the ground. They seemed like bullets, as they flew through the air.  
"This is bad," he exclaimed. He inhaled sharply and he could feel the fire within him begin to build up. "Pyro Sphere!" He spat out a sphere of pure fire that hit the NetGuard1 Program.  
    Dobermon rushed at it and tore away at the thing with his teeth. Terriermon spun round and created a tornado of green leaves around himself, before he leapt through the air, executing his Terrier Tornado attack. The NetGuard1 fell and the white Program fell to the ground.  
    "Ouch!" exclaimed the white object in a child-like voice. It was small, white and had stubby little arms and legs. Its ears were frilled with purple edges, like the tips of its feet. The thing had large eyes and on its forehead was a red triangle surrounded by three smaller, black triangles to form some kind of six-pointed star– the Symbol of the Officials. "That hurt," said the white object, which happened to be a Program.  
    "What happened?" asked Terriermon.  
    The Program leapt off of the floor and floated in the air.  
"The NetGuards suddenly attacking us for no reason," replied the Program miserably. "Someone's probably reprogrammed them, otherwise they wouldn't have attacked us like that."  
    "Terriermon, ask him where you can find a place to reprogram the NetGuards," stated Jenrya.  
    The small bunny-like Digimon nodded in acknowledgement.  
"Okay, Jen," he agreed. "Say, do you know where we can reprogram the NetGuards?" he asked the Program. "We're here to help fix the network, so if you could tell us..."  
    "Go to HospNet Area 3," stated the Program. "The Hospital Director's Digimon is always there. Perhaps he can help."  
    "Thanks," thanked Guilmon. "Come on, let's go!"  
    "Hey, wait up!" cried Terriermon, before he leapt on to Dobermon's back and rode the larger Digimon across the paths of the network and after Guilmon.  
    The white Program waved after them, a weak smile on his face. He shuddered.  
"Ooh, I don't feel so good all of a sudden," he murmured with a shiver, as green circuit-like patterns suddenly started to appear like blotches all over his skin. He dropped down on to the path with a bounce and then remained there, shivering.

* * * * *

    Alice had heard what the Program said about the Hospital Director. She quickly handed Jenrya her D-Tector.  
"Jen, Takato, I'm going to see the Hospital Director about this," she told them. There was a slightly worried look on her face and it was clear to the other two Operators that she knew something they didn't. "I've got to speak to him about the lockdown. Jenrya, please look after Dobermon for me while I'm gone."  
    "Alice, you know something, don't you?" Jenrya asked her.  
    "Jen, not now," stated Alice sternly, before she ran off.  
    Takato watched Alice ran down the corridor.  
"What's up with her?" he wondered out loud. He had never known her to be like that. Takato had never known Alice to be so abrupt. He turned to face the computer screen and see what progress Guilmon had made. "All right, they're in HopsNet Area 2! Good going, guys!"

* * * * *

    Guilmon skidded to a halt and then suddenly found himself stuck. Oh, he hated the viruses that activated Battle Arenas. He looked around him and found himself standing in an grid-like area of three by three tiles. Each tile had a red edge to it. He looked towards the virus, which was in a three by three area of blue-edged tiles right next to his area. This was definitely a Battle Arena all right.  
    "Oh, I hate those types of viruses!" cried Takato. "Don't you worry, Guilmon, I've got some Modify Chips ready to use!"  
    "That's okay, I can take care of this Weed.3263 Virus," stated Guilmon. The virus in front of him looked like a Venus Fly Trap with a pink head. He inhaled sharply and spat out a sphere of fire at the virus, roasting it in an instant. "Gotcha!" he exclaimed triumphantly and the Battle Arena suddenly disappeared. He rushed forward and then claimed the data the virus left behind for himself.  
    "Way to go, Guilmon!" cheered on Terriermon, as he leapt off of Dobermon and rushed towards the Digimon. He suddenly skidded to a halt, a horrified expression plastered on his face. "Look out!" he screamed, as another NetGuard rose up from the ground.  
    This one looked exaclty like the previous one, but the petals of its sunflower-like head were blue instead of yellow. The head began rotating and suddenly seeds spat out like bullets from a machine gun. Each seed tore at the ground viciously, burrowing into it and throwing up debris from the paths.  
    Terriermon leapt off of Dobermon's back and spun round in the air, creating a whirlwind around himself. He flew through the air like some kind of spinning missile and smacked straight into the NetGuard program. The sunflower-like head of the program was suddenly flung back and the stream of seeds it spat curved skywards.  
"That'll teach you to mess with me!" he laughed, as he landed back on the path. "Bunny Blast!" He inhaled and then spat out a stream of bright green plasma spheres, each one hitting the stem of the NetGuard Program.  
    That was when Guilmon took into action. He leapt up at the NetGuard and slashed at it with his claws. He managed to tear into the stem, but it seemed to be too thick. Guilmon tried again, only for a root to tear out of the ground and whip at him. It coiled around him like a snake and began squeezing the air out of his digital, scaly body.  
"Takato, somebody, help!" he cried out to his Operator.  
    "I'm coming!" called out Dobermon, as he leapt into action. He lunged at the root and grabbed it, growling ferally as he bit into the root and tore at it.  
    "Oh, no, it doesn't look as if they're going to make it," cried Takato.  
    "Well, they will do," stated Jenrya confidentally. "Dobermon, I'm going to send you an DMD! DigiModify- Hyper Strength Activate!"  
    Every sinewy muscle within Dobermon's body seemed to bulge. He could feel a new power wash over him. Strength was his new ally and he tore at the NetGuard Program with a fervour never seen before. With one final tug at the root, he managed to tear Guilmon free.  
"There," he said, "you're free now."  
    "Thanks, Dobermon," thanked Guilmon gratefully. He looked up and saw the NetGuard's head lower back down. "Watch out!" he cried, as he dived for Dobermon and pushed him out of the way, just as a stream of the NetGuard's seed-like projectiles struck the path. He looked behind him.  
    "Phew, that was too close," sighed Dobermon. "Thanks, Guilmon."  
    "It's not over yet," growled Guilmon, as he got up to his feet.  
    "I've got it!" exclaimed Takato in sudden realisation. It was one of those 'Eureka' moments that hits people every now and then. "Guilmon, leap at the NetGuard program and do a spinning jump. Slash at it with your claws in mid-air. I'll give you a boost. DigiModify– Hyper Speed activate!"  
    A surge of speed hit Guilmon. For him, everything seemed to slow down. He ran for it and leap into the air and spun like Terriermon would. He spread his arms out wide, as he spun and his sharp claws cut through the NetGuard's stem like rotor blades, severing it in half. He landed back down on the ground gracefully and looked up to see the NetGuard throbbing like a vein, before it broke up into tiny bits of digital data.  
    Guilmon smiled.  
"That takes care of that," he said, dusting his paws off. "So, anybody got any ideas as to where to go from here?" He suddenly shivered. "Brr... Is it just me or is it getting really cold here?" he asked the others. He began hugging himself, as he shivered. "Guys?" He turned round and saw that the others were also shivering. Why? They had fur. He didn't understand.  
    "Terriermon, what's wrong?" asked Jenrya worriedly.  
    The small, furry Digimon was shivering just like Guilmon. It seemed, however, that he was suffering more than the fire-style Digimon and Dobermon put together.  
"I'm so cold," he said through chattering teeth. "Why is it so...?" He couldn't finish his sentence before he descended into a powerful sneezing fit. It seemed as if he would sneeze his head off.  
    "Something's not quite right," said Takato, who noticed that Dobermon was suffering as well. "They've been infected!" cried Takato, upon the sudden realisation of what was happening.  
    "Darkspore," muttered Jenrya, upon seeing green patterns appear all over Terriermon's fur. "We've got to get them to a DigiHospital and quick."  
    "There's no time," protested Takato. "Guilmon, go and see if you can find the Hospital Director's Digimon!"  
    "Are you nuts? He'll get the Director's Digimon infected as well!" argued Jenrya.  
    Guilmon's shivering was getting too much for him. He wanted to stop shivering, but he felt too cold for that. Yet for some strange reason, it seemed that the virus was having no effect on him. Was it because he was a fire-style Digimon? Yes, he had heard of the fact that the virus didn't seem to infect fire-style Digimon. Perhaps his body was dealing with it in some way. The Digimon suddenly collapsed to his knees. He felt weak from the virus. It was sapping his strength and it didn't seem as if there was anything that he could do. Perhaps he was wrong.  
"Takato, it was nice knowing you," wheezed Guilmon weakly. Green patches appeared all over his skin and he could himself degrading. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see saplings growing from the heads of his digital friends.  
    "No, it can't end like this!" cried Takato in disbelief. "Guilmon!"  
    An evil laugh suddenly echoed all around them. A data stream struck the floor in front of them and deposited a Digimon in front of them. This Digimon looked like a gigantic cactus with eyeholes and a mouthole cut out in its front and two boxing gloves for hands.  
"So, it looks like the poor Juggernaut Destroyers are all sick," taunted the cactus-like Digimon. "Too bad."  
    "Who are you?" stuttered Terriermon through chattering teeth.  
    "I am Togemon, one of the Dragon Syndicate's best Digimon Agents," announced the cactus-shaped Digimon proudly. "His Excellency, the Leader of the Dragon Syndicate, has ordered me to terminate you. You brats are getting in the Syndicate's way of total world domination."  
    Guilmon growled and snarled angrily at Togemon, yet because of the virus, a kitten's mew would have sounded more threatening.  
    "Is that so?" coughed Terriermon. "Well..." He couldn't say anymore. The virus was taking its toll on him.  
    "Terriermon!" cried Guilmon in horror, as he saw the furry Digimon fall flat on his front. He turned round to face Togemon. "You did this, didn't you?" he asked the cactus-shaped Digimon. "You're the one that infected the network." He heard another thud and turned round to see Dobermon flat against the floor.  
    Togemon frowned, her prickly eyebrows moving together like two hedgehogs fighting for their territory.  
"Say, you're a fire-style Digimon, aren't you?" asked Togemon curiously. "Yes, you are. I thought so. You're lucky. Your body can handle the virus and possibly even destroy it. Your friends, however..."  
    "Takato, I've got an idea!" exclaimed Jenrya. "If you can send Guilmon to my Dad via e-mail, he could create some kind of cure for the Darkspore virus."  
    "I'm sorry, but I won't let you do that!" cried Togemon, as she rushed forward and flung a gloved fist straight at Guilmon. Her red glove hit the Digimon underneath the scaly chin and sent him flying backwards. "I don't want to do this, but you've left me no choice. You must be taken care of or His Excellency's wrath will harm my Operator! Needle Spray!" She fired several cactus needles straight at the fire-style Digimon.  
    The Darkspore virus was affecting Guilmon more than the Digimon would let on. It had slowed his reactions and made him weak. Even though the needles, being a wood-style attack, would only do half their normal damage, they still hurt. A wince covered his scaly face, as he staggered back from Togemon. His thoughts turned to his digital friends and how they would die if he couldn't get to Jenrya's Dad.  
    Togemon raised her arms up into the air.  
"Battle Arena activate!" she announced and a beam of light struck down around them. The path was suddenly divided up into a red and blue section, each section consisting of nine tiles arranged in a three by three fashion.  
    The rules of fighting in a Battle Arena were simple. Each section belongs to a certain Digimon and a Digimon cannot stray off that section. Guilmon, being on the red section, couldn't step on to a blue tile and Togemon, being on a blue section, couldn't step on to a red tile. Digimon were, however, allowed to jump, fly or teleport into another Digimon's section.  
    Now there was no getting away. Guilmon would have to fight and win, if he was to be e-mailed anywhere. He just hoped that Takato had suitable DigiModify Chips loaded into the D-Tector. This fight would need to be incredibly short and that meant he would have to use all the skill he had.  
    "Are you ready yet?" asked Togemon.  
    "Hold on, I'm sending you the DMDs right now," announced Takato.  
    Mentally, Guilmon looked at the selection ahead of him. There wasn't much in the way of fire-style DMDs there. It was rather slim as well.  
"Okay, I'm ready," he told Togemon with a nod of his head. He waited, his muscles tensed. Guilmon saw Togemon punch thin-air and then saw a large red glove hurtle away from Togemon and straight towards him. He couldn't move out of the way in time and was knocked backwards.  
    "Guilmon, no!"

**_To be continued..._**


	8. Transmission 07: Be All Right

**Digimon(2).EXE**

**By Wolf O'Donnell**

WARNING! May contain Alternative Universe situations and out-of-character experiences. Upon reading this, you hereby agree that you forfeit all your rights to sue me and that I cannot be held liable for any psychological or physical damage caused by the fact that I use British English spelling and that this fanfic contains NO graphic depictions of a heterosexual and homosexual nature. Digimon is copyrighted by Bandai and Toei Animation Ltd. Wolf O'Donnell is copyrighted by Nintendo Ltd, although that might have nothing to do with the fanfic. Digimon(2).EXE is based on Rockman.EXE, which is copyrighted by Capcom Ltd. Constructive criticism is very welcome.

* * * * *

Transmission 07: Be All Right  
    "Guilmon, are you all right?" asked Takato.  
    "He won't be!" retorted Togemon, as she leapt into the air and flung her fist down towards the unconscious Guilmon. The fire-style Digimon didn't stir from his position on the floor. He still lay there as if he was dead. Her gloved fist smashed into the floor. She had missed.  
    "All right, Guilmon!" exclaimed Takato.  
    "Takato, why don't you use the Burner DMD?" suggested Jenrya.  
    "Oh yeah, good idea," agreed Takato. "DigiModify– Burner activate!"  
    The tiles surrounding Guilmon suddenly burst into flames and since he was so near to Togemon, the wood-style Digimon got caught in the inferno. She cried out in pain, before leaping away from the Digimon and landing back on her section of the Battle Arena.  
"Thanks Takato," he called out to his Operator. "Pyro Sphere!" He inhaled sharply and spat out a sphere of flames that struck Togemon in the head.

* * * * *

    Takato looked at the screen of his D-Tector carefully. It showed the DMDs he had selected. There were rules to selecting DMDs that had to be followed. They either had to be the same or of the same code. He had initially selected a Burner F, a Cannon F and a V-Laser F. Only the Cannon and V-Laser were left and once they were used up, he would have to select some more.  
    He knew it was a bad selection, but it was the only ones that he could make from the chips he had.  
    "Takato, isn't that a Lava Line?" asked Jenrya, as he pointed at Takato's D-Tector screen.  
    "Yeah, I think it is," replied Takato. What was the blue-haired youth getting at? "Why?" he asked Jenrya curiously.

* * * * *

    "Needle Spray!"  
    Guilmon wasn't very graceful and instead of dodging them skilfully, he found himself being hit by one after another. He tripped over his own feet and suddenly crashed to the ground. He looked up and saw Togemon leap into the above him. She crashed down on top of him, knocking the wind out of his lungs and making him descend into a hacking cough. More and more green patches were covering his scaly skin. The Darkspore Virus was taking hold.  
    Togemon crossed her prickly arms, as she stood at the edge of her section. It was clear what was happening to her fire-style opponent.  
"I don't think I'll need to fight you now," she told the dinosaur Digimon. "The Darkspore Virus will finish you off for me."  
    "Guilmon, I'm cancelling the DMDs I selected earlier," whispered Takato to his Digimon. "Just try to hang in there, while I load the next set of DMDs."  
    The Digimon would have replied, if he wasn't so weak from the Darkspore Virus. He looked backwards and saw that flowers had grown from the heads of his friends. They were already spreading the virus like crazy. He apologised, mentally, to his friends and to his Operator. He wanted to be of more use to them but found that even being a fire-style Digimon didn't help.

* * * * *

    Alice knocked calmly on the door. She heard the Director call out to her from within and took that as her cue to enter.  
    "So, what may I do for you, little girl?" asked the hospital director from his chair, as he propped his glasses back up his nose with a finger.  
    The blonde-haired girl glanced over at the sign on the desk. So the Director's name was Jyou Kido, huh? She began to wonder whether he was related to the Dr. Kido that was the very first medic to go up to the Orbital Space Ring.  
"Mr. Kido, I need to speak to you about the Darkspore Virus," she told the man.  
    "I'm sorry, little girl, but I'm not a Programmer," the Director told her. "I'm a doctor for human beings."  
    "I think the virus orginated from this hospital," Alice continued. "Could you please help me find the one that's been spreading it? I need your D-Tector to help me send an e-mail out of the hospital and to the Officials Centre." She waited for a while for his reply. From the look on his face, it didn't seem that he would help her, but she kept her fingers crossed. After all, why write someone off when they haven't given you an answer? "Please," she pleaded. "My friends need your help. It's for the good of their own health. After all, don't you doctors have to look after mental health as well? They'll become depressed if they lose their Digimon... Please, Director Kido."  
    The man sighed.  
"Very well, I'll help you," he told her, as he rose from his seat.  


    Takato looked at the screen of his D-Tector carefully. It was taking forever for the new set of DMDs to load. If he could ever get his hands on whomever designed the DigiModify System, he would throttle them.  
"All right!" he exclaimed, upon seeing that the DMDs were available. He looked carefully and tried to see what combinations he could use. The Lava Line was an L code and he also had a Lightning Blade code L and... That seemed about it. "Okay, DigiModify– Lava Line activate!" he announced.

* * * * *

    The tiles underneath Guilmon turned into ankle-high lava and the tiles behind him and in front of him turned into lava as well. Being a heat-style Digimon, the lava did not affect him. In fact, it was rather soothing. He sighed and felt his digital equivalent of sinuses clear. He still felt awful, as the Darkspore Virus had sapped his strength, yet his condition was no longer deteriorating. In fact, he felt as if he was recovering quite nicely.  
    "DigiModify– Hyper Heal activate!" announced Takato.  
    Ah, now that was better. Guilmon felt his strength returning to him. Now he was going to kick some wood-style butt. He inhaled sharply and spat out a sphere of flames straight at Togemon, hitting her in the chest. Guilmon ran straight towards her and leapt high into the air, to come smashing back down on Togemon's side, lashing his claws out at her. He leapt back and spat out another sphere of fire.  
    Togemon leapt out of the way quickly.  
"Do you really think that you can defeat me that easily?" asked Togemon, as she spread her arms out.  
    "DigiModify– Grass Stage activate!"  
    Guilmon frowned. That wasn't Takato's voice. Now whose was it? It sounded rather familiar to him. Never mind. He saw the battle arena covered with grass. Wood-style Digimon and viruses are constantly healed on grass-covered tiles, aren't they?  
"Oh, so that's the trick," he growled. Still, grass-covered tiles were double-edged blades. Digimon took double damage if a fire attack hit them while they stood on such tiles.  
    Takato knew this too.  
"DigiModify– Hyper Jet activate!" announced Takato.  
    The Pyro Sphere attack that Guilmon executed spread out and hit a wide range. Togemon was unable to fight back and received quadruple damage.  
"Fire burns wood," stated Guilmon calmly, as he leapt towards Togemon and struck at the Digimon. In doing so, Togemon broke up into bits of digital data that scattered into the air.  
    "Man, that was a quick fight," stated Takato.  
    "Yeah, really quick," agreed Jenrya.  
    The Battle Arena disappeared and Guilmon was suddenly free to leave. Yet he didn't move. It was as if he was frozen stiff. His body suddenly shuddered and his digital data changed. He grew and shifted into a Champion level. Guilmon digivolved into Growlmon, yet something was not quite right.  
    "Isn't Growlmon supposed to be a fire-style Digimon?" asked Jenrya curiously.  
    "Yeah," replied Takato, but sounded rather unsure of himself. "Something's wrong."  
    Growlmon was not red anymore. He was green and that was what was worrying. The Digimon was green and white instead of red and white, and instead of a white shock of hair, it was a combination of blue and green. No longer was he fire-style, but he was now wood-style.  
    "Do you think we can still be able to use him to create a antivirus program against the Darkspore Virus?" asked Takato curiously.  
    "I'm not sure," replied Jenrya.  


* * * * *

    Nurse Mimi quickly unplugged her D-Tector from the socket and stepped back. She thought about her predicament. Togemon had been deleted, but she was lucky enough to have a back-up copy of Togemon contained within the D-Tector. Hence, Togemon hadn't really died. A worried look spread across her face, when she thought of what she would have to tell His Excellency. She had failed in deleting the Digimon of those DEVA Cadets that had destroyed the Juggernaut Virus. His Excellency had told her that they would be a threat to the Dragon Syndicate and wanted them eradicated.  
    She raised her D-Tector and dialled a number. Nurse Mimi waited for the other person to pick it up.  
"Hello? Yes, Your Excellency, I have bad news to report," she whispered quietly, in case there was anyone nearby. "It's about those DEVA Cadets," she began, but trailed off, not knowing what to say to the Dragon Syndicate Leader. That was when she heard him speak. He knew that she had failed. Somehow, he knew. "I'm so sorry, Your Excellency, but I swear that I will do better next time."  
    "There won't be a next time, Nurse Mimi," said a voice that made her blood run cold.  
    "Oh, Director Kido, sir, I didn't hear you come in," said Nurse Mimi, as she put her D-Tector away. She pressed a button on the device and cancelled her phone call. "How may I help you?" She noticed that a blonde-haired girl was standing next to the blue-haired Hospital Director. She recognised that girl as one of those DEVA Cadets that the Dragon Syndicate Leader wanted eradicated.  
    Director Kido glared at her so coldly, that it was amazing that she didn't become an ice block.  
"I overheard everything, Ms. Tachikawa," stated Kido sternly. "So, you're a member of the Dragon Syndicate?"  
    Mimi looked around her nervously. She didn't want to answer his question. Of all the things that she did not want, she did not want to be arrested.  
"I don't know what you're talking about," she said in a half-laugh, half-nervous manner. Mimi was obviously lying and she knew that the Director knew it too. Something caught her eye. Perfect. She smiled. She grabbed the trolley and pushed it at the door frantically.  
    The Nurse shoved Kido aside and emerged out into the corridor. She turned and ran for it, upon hearing him shout for security. No, she wouldn't let herself be arrested. Somehow, she'd find her way out of the mess she had put herself in. Suddenly, something grabbed her.  
"Let go of me," shrieked Mimi angrily, as she kicked and hit the security guard that had grabbed her. "Let go! Let go!"  
    "Alice, are you all right?" asked Jenrya, as he came running up the corridor with Takato.  
    A smile spread across Alice's face, as she walked down the corridor to meet her friends halfway.  
"I'm fine, thanks," she replied, grateful that Jenrya was concerned for her. She turned to face Nurse Mimi whom was still kicking and shouting. "How's Dobermon?"  
    "Not too good," replied Jenrya with a shake of his head, as he handed Alice back her D-Tector. "He's suffering from that Darkspore Virus and if we don't get him some kind of antivirus program soon, he's history. Terriermon too."  
    "Say, what's with Nurse Mimi?" asked Takato curiously.  
    "She's the one that's been spreading that virus," replied Alice confidently, "and she's the one that's going to give us that antivirus."  
    "You don't understand," cried Mimi angrily. "I had to do it for the Syndicate. My husband owed them too much money. If I didn't, they would have..." She trailed off and broke down into tears at the thought of what would happen to her and her family. "They were threatening my family. I couldn't do anything but give in to their demands. I couldn't have gone to the police!" she wailed between sobs of grief. "They would have hurt my family."  
    Jenrya thought of his father, the Official. Perhaps there was a way around all this.  
"Ms. Mimi, I was thinking," began Jenrya, "my Dad's an Official. I could speak to him about your predicament and he could arrange it so that you wouldn't have to worry about the Syndicate anymore."  
    "Really?" sniffed Mimi.  
    "Yeah, I'm sure my Dad would do it," replied Jenrya with a nod of his head. "But you have to hand over the antivirus program first. Got it?"  
    Mimi nodded in reply.  
"Yes, I understand," she told the youth. "It's in my D-Tector. The antivirus program is labelled dswiz.EXE. If you apply it straight away to your Digimon, they will recover." She let the security guard unhook the D-Tector from the waistband of her skirt and hand it over to the youths.  
    Jenrya was very quick in applying it to his Digimon and to Dobermon. It only took two minutes flat for the program to be loaded on to both D-Tectors.  
"Terriermon, you feeling better?" he asked his Digimon, as he looked at the D-Tector's screen that displayed the image of his Digimon.  
    A smile spread across Terriermon's pixelated face.  
"Yeah, I'm fine, Jen," replied the Digimon with a nod of his head. "I'm still feeling a bit weak, but that's to be expected, right?"  
    "Yeah," replied Jenrya with a nod of his head.  
    One thing bothered Takato though. He had been thinking about it ever since he Alice had explained what Nurse Mimi had done.  
"Something doesn't add up," he said after much thought. "How did you know that Nurse Mimi was the one spreading the virus?" he asked Alice.  
    "I was told by Jenrya's Dad that something like that would happen," she replied.  
    A frown spread across Jenrya's face.  
"He did?" exclaimed Jenrya in complete surprise. How come his father didn't tell him about it? Didn't his father trust him? Then he realised that he rarely saw his father, since his Dad was at the Officials' Orbital Ring HQ most of the time. Even his mother rarely saw Dr. Lee because of his work. Jenrya's Dad practically lived at the Orbital Ring HQ.  
    "Speaking of which, you think your Dad can tell me what happened to Guilmon?" asked Takato curiously.  
    "Yeah, why don't we meet up tomorrow at 10?" suggested Jenrya. After all, there was no school on a Saturday. They could do whatever they wanted, whenever they wanted.  
    "Yeah, that's okay," agreed Takato with a nod of his head. "Shall we meet up at the lobby?"  
    "Yeah, let's," agreed Jenrya.  


    The Orbital Space Ring, which surrounded the Earth, was not only divided into four sections– Dyjitopia, Inphynitio, Phyle and Spyrol, but it was also divided into three levels. Its spin meant that objects were pushed outwards away from the Earth and that meant that the levels were arranged opposite, yet parallel to the Earth's equator so that the planet always seemed to be above the Space Ring's inhabitants. The level that was furthest away from the Earth (the lowest level) was where the waterworks, sewage works, power plants and industrial factories were located. The middle level was the one in which people lived and the innermost level was taken up by the offices and laboratories of the Officials.  
    There were several elevator shafts that led between the industrial level (known as Level 1) and the middle level (known as Level 2). To get to Level 3, where the Officials were located, however, one had to travel all the way to the section known as Spyrol, as the only lifts up there were situated in Kokobashi, the Capital of Spyrol.  
    It was because of this that travel between the four administrative regions of the Orbital Space Ring was treated as travel within a country, instead of between countries, which was in effect what it actually was.  
    "It must be really hard for you to be living so far away from your Dad," said Takato, as he sat within the train with his friend, Jenrya Lee. They were heading towards Spyrol and since travel between the four countries of the Orbital Space Ring was treated as if they were travelling within one country, they didn't bring their passports with them. "It must be like having divorced parents."  
    Jenrya shrugged at that comment.  
"It's not so bad," he told his friend. "I get to see him every now and then. Besides, I still get to speak to him on the phone. He calls every week or so to see how we're all doing." He looked out of the window and saw that they were passing into Spyrol. There were marked differences between the streets and buildings of the four different countries– Dyjtopia, Inphynitio, Phyle and Spyrol.  
    "Looks like we're nearly there," commented Jenrya, as he saw the trees. In Dyjitopia, the trees that lined the streets tended to be cherry trees. In Inphynitio, Takato's home country, they tended to be crab apple trees and in Spyrol, they tended to be Linden trees.  
    "Say, is it just me or is it getting hot in here?" wondered Takato, as he wiped his brow.  
    "Yipes!" cried Terriermon from his D-Tector. "My thermometer says the temperature's thirty-six degrees Celcius and rising."  
    Takato leant over and placed his hand underneath the seat. He knew that the temperature control units were located underneath the seats, gushing out cold or hot air respectively to keep the inside of the train carriage at optimum temperature.  
"Youch, that's hot!" he exclaimed, as he pulled his hand away, flicking it in the air.  
    One of the control units suddenly burst into flames and set the seats alight. Several more followed suit, making the passengers spring away from the affected seats. One of them rushed over to grab a fire extinguisher and rushed over to put out the fire.  
    Jenrya lifted the lid of his D-Tector and pressed a few buttons, bringing up a temperature display on its screen.  
"This isn't good," he muttered under his breath. "If the temperature keeps rising like this, we'll broil before we get to the next station."

**_To be continued..._**


	9. Transmission 08: Fire!

**Digimon(2).EXE**

**By Wolf O'Donnell**

WARNING! May contain Alternative Universe situations and out-of-character experiences. Upon reading this, you hereby agree that you forfeit all your rights to sue me and that I cannot be held liable for any psychological or physical damage caused by the fact that I use British English spelling and that this fanfic contains NO graphic depictions of a heterosexual and homosexual nature. Digimon is copyrighted by Bandai and Toei Animation Ltd. Wolf O'Donnell is copyrighted by Nintendo Ltd, although that might have nothing to do with the fanfic. Digimon(2).EXE is based on Rockman.EXE, which is copyrighted by Capcom Ltd. Constructive criticism is very welcome.

* * * * *

Transmission 08: Fire!  
    The train had turned into a moving inferno. In each of the carriages that Jenrya had ran into, he had seen raging fires.  
    Takato looked around him wildly. He knew that if he could plug his Digimon into the train's temperature control network, he would be able to solve the problem. But where was the control panel for that carriage? He looked around wildly and then saw a plug-in port at the end of the corner. He ran over it, as he brought out his D-Tector from his pocket. His path was suddenly blocked.  
"Jenrya, what are you doing?" he asked angrily, as he tried to step around his blue-haired friend, but found it impossible to do so. "Out of my way. I've got to log Growlmon in and fix the temperature control system."  
    "Not with Growlmon, you're not," protested Jenrya with a shake of his head. "Have you forgotten already? He's a wood-style Digimon now. Chances are that the train's computer network is completely flooded with fire-style viruses. How else would this have happened? If you load Growlmon into the network, he'll be deleted."  
    "Oh yeah," sighed Takato in sudden realisation.  
    "Don't worry about me," shouted Growlmon from Takato's D-Tector. "I can handle that heat. Just load me to the network and I'll fix the problem." Takato protested at Growlmon's willingness, but the dragon Digimon wasn't going to take no for an answer. "Takato, I'd rather I sacrifice myself than let you burn. If you were in my shoes, you'd do the same thing, wouldn't you?"  
    Only the sound of the raging flames could be heard, as Takato remained silent in thought.  
"Yeah, I would," he replied shortly after. "Okay, Growlmon, I'll load you in. It was a good thing I decided to load a selection of aqua-style DigiModify Chips on to my D-Tector."  
    "You did?" exclaimed Growlmon and Jenrya in surprise.  
    "Yeah," replied Takato with a nod of his head, "I thought that what with Growlmon being a wood-style virus, he would need some aqua-style DMDs. Aqua-style and wood-style go together quite well, don't they?"  
    Jenrya was surprised at Takato's preparedness. Usually, Takato would leap into a situation armed without the proper DMDs.  
"Gosh, today must be a good day for pigs to fly," he commented.  
    Takato hadn't listened to Jenrya's quip. He had already made his way to the end of the carriage. He plugged his D-Tector in and pressed a button.  
"Log in Growlmon.EXE," he announced.

* * * * *

    A data stream struck the ground and Growlmon emerged from it. He looked around him and saw that the paths were like traintracks, some of which glowed red as if they were made out of neon lights, and the terminals were like train station platforms. This floated within a black sky that looked like a screensaver of spinning trains.  
"Man, this place sure is hot," he commented, as he looked around him. He could see that some of the paths and terminals were blocked with raging fires.  
    Out of the corner of Growlmon's eye, he noticed a white Program floating about in a panic.  
"Hi," he called out to the Program and waved at it.  
    Upon seeing Growlmon, the Program stopped floating around. For a while, the Program just stared at Growlmon in wide-eyed disbelief. Eventually, it lifted a stubby arm and waved back at Growlmon.  
    "Hi, my name's Growlmon," announced the Digimon, as he walked over towards the Program. "I've come to help fix the network."  
    The Program looked around him and then back towards the Digimon.  
"You?" exclaimed the Program curiously. He received a nod in reply. "That's nice and all, but I don't think that you can handle it. You see, the network's divided into two sections. The red parts belong to the heater. The blue parts belong to the air conditioning." He pointed over towards a switch not too far away from the Digimon. "You see that? That's the Emergency Master Control, but those virus jerks have gone and broke it."  
    Growlmon sighed. Nothing ever came easy to him.  
"So what do we do?" asked Growlmon curiously.  
    "If you're a Digimon, then you can help me," replied the Program. "I can manually switch of all the red paths. If I can do that, I'll be able to switch off the heaters and activate the coolers, but there's too many fires for me to get to the switches."  
    "But that won't stop the fires that are raging across the train," protested Jenrya's voice.  
    A frown spread across the Program's face.  
"Fires?" he exclaimed in complete surprise. "Oh, that's no good. Still, from what I can tell, the heaters are still switched on. Surely if I turn off the heaters and switch on all the coolers, then it would help the situation?" It saw Growlmon nod in reply and heard him agree verbally. "Okay then, so would you put out the fires for me, please?"  
    The wood-style Digimon nodded in reply.  
"Sure thing," he told the Digimon. "I've got a handful of aqua-style DMDs, so I can deal with those fires." He looked around him and then found that he didn't know where to go. "Okay, lead the way!"  


    The Programs rushed towards the Digimon causing the problem in an attempt to stop him. They were too weak, however, and were flung aside by fiery jets of flame.  
    "Please, you must stop this!" pleaded one of the Programs. "You're messing up the temperature control network!"  
    The Digimon roared out as if in pain.  
"No, must burn!" he cried out animalistically, before laughing insanely. "Must burn everything!" He turned round and attacked one of the Programs, grabbing the little white thing with his large hand. The Digimon looked at the Program with an insane smile on his face. "Burn! Burn! Burn!"  


    "DigiModify– Bubbler activate!"  
    Growlmon's right arm turned into a cannon and he fired a sphere that hit the fire and then burst open to smother the flames with water. The cannon turned back into his right arm.  
"There, is that the way?" asked Growlmon curiously.  
    "That's the way," replied the Program with a nod of his head. "You'd better go ahead, unless you want to be deleted." It saw Growlmon nod in acknowledgement and walk ahead. Being only a Digimon, Growlmon didn't trigger the switch ahead. "All right then, let's switch off this red path!" He floated forward and passed a glowing sphere. The red path that behind them suddenly became dim, as if it was a red light that had suddenly been switched off. Ahead of them, a blue path suddenly lit up as if it was a neon light that had been just switched on.  
    "Is that it?" asked Growlmon curiously.  
    The Program shook his head.  
"I'm afraid not," he told the wood-style Digimon. "We've still got lots more paths to change manually."  
    "Look out!" roared Growlmon, before he leapt past the Program. He swung his hand at the virus and swatted it back. "A Manowar virus," he muttered under his breath. The virus in front of him looked like a Portugese Man-o-War and was a very famous aqua-style virus. "Go ahead and do your worst. I'm a wood-style Digimon, so you can't harm me!" He saw the Manowar Virus glowing. Suddenly, a gush of water spurted from the virus and headed straight for Growlmon. He side-stepped past the attack and inhaled. "Leaf Wind!" He opened his mouth and a howling leaf-littered wind hit the virus.  
    Growlmon saw that the virus was still intact.  
"You're one pretty strong virus," he commented, before he rushed straight at it. He could see that the Manowar was charging up for another attack. Growlmon lashed out and slashed the thing in half with his sharp claws. It disintergrated and left behind a spherical data packet. He reached out and took it. "Cool," he said, after examining it.  
    "Way to go, Growlmon!" praised Takato. "I always wanted an Aqua Wave DigiModify Chip!"  
    "Growlmon, I'm loading Terriermon to the network," announced Jenrya. "He'll help you get through. You just make sure he's okay, all right?"  
    "Okay, Jen," agreed Growlmon with a nod of his head. He waited and a few moments later, a data stream struck the ground in front of him and deposited Terriermon. "Hey, Terriermon," he greeted the small furry Digimon with a wave of his scaly paw.  
    "Behind you!" warned the Program.  
    Terriermon whirled round and executed his Terrier Tornado attack, sending the aqua-style virus flying away from him. He turned back to face the Growlmon and the Program.  
"Hey, you two didn't think I couldn't handle a measly virus, now did you?" he asked them with a mischievous smile on his face.  
    "Would you lot get a move on?" asked Takato angrily. "It's getting really, really, really hot in here!"  
    "Sorry," apologised Growlmon. He raised his arm as if to gesture for the Program to lead the way. "Please, lead the way." He waited for the Program to go ahead and then lifted the child-sized Terriermon up his shoulders. "Hold on," he told Terriermon, although it wasn't really necessary. After all, Growlmon wasn't that large. He couldn't be, since large Digimon moved so slowly around the Digital World they were practically useless, and thus did not exist.  
    Growlmon followed the Program carefully, keeping his eyes open for any viruses. If there were any, he would leap into action and delete them.  
"So, Terriermon, how are Takato and Jenrya?" asked the Digimon in an attempt to make conversation.  
    "They're doing pretty well," replied Terriermon. He too was keeping an eye out for viruses, as they ran off a blue path and on to a black path. "Jenrya's keeping everyone pretty calm and Takato's... well, you know what Takato's up to, don't you?" He noticed that they were a crossroads and Growlmon noticed too. "Why are we stopping here?" asked Terriermon. "Don't you remember the way?"  
    Suddenly, a bunch of fire-style viruses came swarming down from one of the red paths. One was a Firewalk virus, which looked like a small burning head-shaped virus with two large eyes and two very large feet. It was accompanied by one more Firewalk Virus and and an Inferno.781 Virus, which was like a large dog made out of fire.  
    The Firewalk leapt into the air, its feet moving back and forth erratically, before it ran straight towards Growlmon, leaving a trail of fire in its wake. Growlmon leapt out of the way.  
    Terriermon inhaled sharply and spat out bright green projectiles at the Firewalk virus. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw another Firewalk charge straight at him. He leapt back, performing a Terrier Tornado attack to give him extra momentum. He leapt back and tried his Bunny Blast attack again.  
    "Watch out!" warned Growlmon, before he leapt to Terriermon's side. He took the full blast of the Inferno's fiery attack, which was similar to the fire-style Growlmon's Pyro Blaster attack.  
    "Growlmon, are you okay?" asked Takato.  
    "I'll be fine," replied Growlmon through clenched teeth.  
    "Here try this," called out Takato. "DigiModify– Aqua Sword activate!"  
    A large sword that seemed to be made out of liquid appeared in Growlmon's right paw. Yeah, that would certainly do the trick. A smile spread across Growlmon's face, yet he would have to wait before the new DMDs could be used properly. There! He saw the two Firewalk viruses grouping together and then rushed forward, swinging the sword. He caught the both of them with the watery blade and deleted them both in an instant. The sword disappeared from his hands instantly.  
    "DigiModify– ShowerCloud activate!"  
    Terriermon threw a blue sphere into the air and it turned into a cloud. Raindrops fell from the cloud, as it moved horizontally. He saw the rain spray on to the last Inferno virus and heard it roar out in pain.  
"Guess that ShowerCloud wasn't strong enough," stated Terriermon. "Try this on for size, pup! Bunny Blast!" He inhaled sharply and spat out a stream of light green energy blasts at the Inferno.  
    They struck the Inferno.781 virus and tore it apart. The digital data spread into the air and left behind a data packet.  
    "Good job, Terriermon," commended Growlmon with a smile on his scaly muzzle. He turned to face the white Program. "So, which way from here?" he asked the Program.  
    The Program looked around him.  
"Over there!" he called out and pointed towards a path that was blocked by a single fire that burnt brightly. "We have to go straight through that path and turned left to that switch over there. It'll block our way forward, so we'll have to come straight back down this path and go down that path and turn that switch, before back tracking to that path over there and turning that switch."  
    "Huh?" exclaimed Growlmon. If he was a cartoon, question marks would have been floating over his head.  
    "It's a security measure," the Program told Growlmon.

* * * * *

    Jenrya looked around him. His heart wasn't in the job at hand.  
"Has anyone tried smashing the windows?" asked Jenrya, as he wiped more sweat off his forehead. He had unsightly sweat patches around his armpits and felt the cloth of his shirt sticking to his skin uncomfortably. Any hotter and he was sure he'd burst into flames.  
    "Tried that," replied a man gruffly. "No use. Those windows are too tough."  
    "I've been thinking," gasped Takato between breaths. "How come none of the train's staff have put an end to this?"  
    "Takato, all the trains are automated," Jenrya reminded the brown-haired youth.  
    "Yeah, but the trains must have some kind of conductor to ensure that it's working properly," pointed out Takato. He was right. The trains all had two conductors to ensure that the train's systems were functioning properly, and if not, to fix the systems or shut the entire train down. "Perhaps something's happened to them."  
    For a while, Jenrya didn't say another thing. He knew that Takato had a valid point.  
"Whoever's causing this must still be onboard then," he stated. He began to wonder what they were hoping to gain by setting an entire train on fire. "Terriermon, I'm unloading you right now," he called to his Digimon. "No, buts," he said upon hearing Terriermon's protests. "Takato, once you're done with this carriage, meet me at the front of the train."  
    "Okay," agreed Takato with a nod of his head.

* * * * *

    Growlmon used the ShowerCloud DMDs on the fire. The gentle shower of raindrops drenched the fire and it died down and vanished, leaving behind a white plume of steam.  
"There, that should do it," stated Growlmon. He stepped forward on to thed red path and stopped in his tracks. Out of nowhere appeared a computer virus.  
    It was a Burnt.773 Virus. It looked like a round head with arms made out of charcoal. These were said to be very dangerous fire-style viruses. The Burnt raised its arms and clapped its hands together. A large stone brazier with a fire burning in it appeared behind it and burnt brightly. The Burnt opened its mouth and spat out a fireball and then another and then another.  
    With a roar, Growlmon lashed out at the Burnt. He hit it and broke its arm off. The fire within the brazier became blue and rose in height. Growlmon was surprised to see the virus grow back its arm in response.  
"What's going on here?" he exclaimed in complete surprise.  
    "I've heard about this virus," exclaimed Takato all of a sudden. "The fire behind the Burnt virus replenishes its health whenever the virus gets damaged. Here, use this DMD. DigiModify– Aqua Bomb activate!"  
    A balloon appeared in front of Growlmon and floated towards the Burnt virus. The Digimon inhaled and then executed his Leaf Wind attack against the Aqua Bomb. He knew that the more damage he inflicted on the Aqua Bomb, the more damage it would inflict when it finally explode. 'Not too bright, is it?' thought Growlmon, as he saw that the Burnt virus was also attacking the Aqua Bomb.  
    It burst and sprayed water everywhere, dousing the brazier and wounding the Burnt virus. Seconds later, both were deleted.  
    "Way to go, Growlmon!" praised Takato.  
    The path suddenly burst into flames and Growlmon was engulfed in the raging fire.

**_To be continued..._**


	10. Transmission 09: Burning Fight

**Digimon(2).EXE**

**By Wolf O'Donnell**

WARNING! May contain Alternative Universe situations and out-of-character experiences. Upon reading this, you hereby agree that you forfeit all your rights to sue me and that I cannot be held liable for any psychological or physical damage caused by the fact that I use British English spelling and that this fanfic contains NO graphic depictions of a heterosexual and homosexual nature. Digimon is copyrighted by Bandai and Toei Animation Ltd. Wolf O'Donnell is copyrighted by Nintendo Ltd, although that might have nothing to do with the fanfic. Digimon(2).EXE is based on Rockman.EXE, which is copyrighted by Capcom Ltd. Constructive criticism is very welcome.

* * * * *

Transmission 09: Burning Fight  
    Takato leapt back from the console. It was on fire and his D-Tector was still connected. If he didn't do something soon, Growlmon would be deleted. He looked around him for something to douse out the flames.  
"Hey, where's the fire extinguisher?" he asked the passengers. Takato knew that if he could put out the flames, then he would save his Digimon.  
    "Sorry, bud, but this one's all used up," apologised one of the passengers.  
    That was bad. Takato suddenly got an idea. By law, all trains had to have at least two fire extinguishers per carriage. He looked around him and saw one opposite the control panel, to the right of the door that occupied the carriage's front end. The youth rushed over and grabbed it, tearing it off the wall and pulled out the safety pin. He aimed and sprayed.

* * * * *

    The fires eventually cleared, leaving Growlmon's pretty charred body behind.  
    "Growlmon, are you all right?" asked Takato. "Growlmon, speak to me!"  
    A groan came from Growlmon, as he got up to his feet.  
"What hit me?" he wondered out loud, as clutched at his head. He looked around him and saw the Program floating not too far away from him. Whatever had happened, the Program had managed to get out of the way just in time and save himself.  
    "Growlmon, you feeling better?" asked Takato concernedly.  
    "Yeah, I'm fine," replied Growlmon with a nod of his head. "What about you?"  
    "I'm okay," replied Takato.  
    Hearing those words did Growlmon good. He practically lived to look after Takato, his Operator and best human friend. Growlmon smiled.  
"Okay, then I'd better get going," he stated. He turned to face the Program and asked it whether it was all right. The reply he got relieved him. If the Program had been hurt, then things would have been very dire indeed. "Okay, let's go then!" He turned and was about to run forward, when he realisd that he didn't know where they were going. "Uh... where to from here?" he asked the Program.  
    "Well, after I pass that switch, pretty much all of the carriages will have the air conditioning turned on," replied Program.  
    "All right!"  


    "Terriermon, are you all right?"  
    "I'm fine," replied the Digimon, as he rose back up to his feet. "It'll take more than that to defeat me." Terriermon looked around him. His section of the train's computer network didn't look anything like the one Growlmon was in. For one, there were no fires.  
    "Please, help me!"  
    Terriermon looked around him wildly. That voice seemed to come from somewhere in front of him.  
"Who's there?" he shouted loudly. "Where are you?" He couldn't see the person that had spoken. The Digimon listened more carefully and he heard the voice plead for help once again. "Wait there, I'm coming for you!" he called out to the mysterious person. The wood-style Digimon turned and made his way down one of the paths. He skidded to a halt and looked out in front of him.  
    It was a Digimon that looked like a humanoid snowman with arms and legs. The Digimon was lying flat on the terminal and he looked badly beaten up.  
"Please, help me," pleaded the aqua-style Digimon again, as he lifted his head up to look at Terriermon. "Please, you've got to stop him." The Digimon then descended into a hacking cough.  
    "Easy there, don't strain yourself," Terriermon told the snowy Digimon. "You'll end up being deleted if you keep this up. You just relax and I'll get my Operator to send you a Heal DMD to make you feel all better."  
    The white Digimon shook his cold head.  
"It's too late for me," the Digimon told Terriermon. "I'm a goner, but you can still save the passengers. My Operator is one of the train's conductors. Find him. He'll tell you what to do..." The Digimon began coughing again, as his body began to blur with static as if he were a picture on a poorly tuned television set. "My Operator... will... help... you..." With those last words, the Digimon disintegrated into bits of digital data that floated away.

* * * * *

    Takato suddenly felt a cool breeze. He embraced it and welcomed it. The breeze was a welcome change from the inferno he was battling in only a few seconds ago.  
"Way to go, Growlmon," he congratulated his Digimon. He was glad that his Digimon had helped the Program turn the air conditioning on, as the heaters had been going beserk, even with the fires extinguished. The brown-haired youth was about to congratulate his Digimon when he heard a noise.  
    It was like a banging and a muffled cry of help. Takato looked around him in an attempt to find out where it was coming from. Where was it coming from?  
    All of a sudden, Takato realised which carriage he was in. It was the frontmost of the four rear carriages. There was always a conductor stationed halfway within the train in case of emergencies. The conductor must have been trapped in the room situated to the side of the middle carriage, which was always used to store items such as bicycles or cargo.  
"Growlmon, I'm loading you back out of the network," he told his Digimon, before he pressed a few buttons and then detached his D-Tector from the control panel. He then went over to the door and pressed a button to the side.  
    The door slid open and Takato ran through it and into the middle carriage. There he found himself in a corridor that ran to the left of the carriage. To his right was a cage-like area and he saw a few crates sitting on one side and a bicycle chained to the other, but no conductor. He ran a few steps down the corridor and found a door to the side. There was a glass window in it and he peered through it.  
    Takato saw a computer and a man dressed in the dark green uniform of the train conductors.  
"I thought so," he said to himself, before he grabbed the handle and tried to open the door. "Darn! It's locked!" He then banged on the door. "Hey!" he called out to the train conductor, in the knowledge that the doors weren't very soundproof. "Hey, I need your help!"  
    The man, upon hearing Takato's voice stood up and peered through the window. He saw Takato on the other side of the door.  
"I'm sorry, I can't help you right now," he told Takato. "My Digimon went beserk, locked me in this room and now he's wrecking the train's computer network."  
    "I can help!" shouted Takato. "I'm a DEVA Cadet."  
    "Huh, no cadet can help now," said the train conductor with a sad shake of his head. "My Digimon is heading towards the front carriage. If he gets into the navigation system, he could crash the train." For a while, no more words were said. "Still, I guess it can't harm for you to try. You think you can handle it?" He received a silent nod in reply. "Okay then, here's what you do. Load your Digimon into the control panel near the front door and direct him to a firewall somewhere to the left. Enter the passcode, 'BUTTERFLY', and that'll give your Digimon access to the navigation system. Get him to find a large panel with a circular screen. That's where he can stop the train and open all the train's doors. You think you can do that, kid?"  
    A smile spread across Takato's face. Well, he had faced tougher situations than that before.  
"Yeah, I can do that," he replied with a nod of his head. "Don't you worry. I'll have this train stopped in no time." He turned round and opened the door to his side and ran through into the next carriage.  
    "Hey, watch where you're going!"  
    "I'm sorry," apologised Takato and then he backed off in complete surprise. "You?" he exclaimed, upon seeing the youth in front of him. The youth wore a black shirt with a golden cross on it and had a shock of brown hair that stuck upwards. "Hey, you're that Hypnos jerk that attacked the Official DigiSquare! Hirokazu, isn't it?"  
    The brown-haired youth in front of Takato had a completely surprised look on his face.  
"Oh, it's you," he exclaimed in complete surprise.  
    "So, you're the guy that's behind all this," said Takato accusingly.  
    "Hey, don't look at me like that," protested Hirokazu. "I'm not the guy that's responsible for this. You think that I'd be stupid enough to set the train on fire when I was on it? Besides, I'm on the right side now. No more accepting dirty money from terrorist organisations. It's the straight and narrow for me." The brown-haired, brown-eyed youth noticed that Takato's accusing look hadn't disappeared. "Hey, buddy, I'm not responsible for all this. I swear! Cross my heart and hope to die."  
    "Takato, let's not waste time with him," pleaded Growlmon. "We've got a job to do."  
    Takato sighed.  
"Yeah, you're right," agreed Takato with a nod of his head. "I've got to go," he told Hirokazu.  
    "Up to your old tricks again, huh?" chuckled Hirokazu. "Well, I can't stop you, man. See you around, perhaps? Maybe we can have a friendly DigiBattle between our Digimon someday?"  
    "Yeah, perhaps," said Takato with a nod of his head. "Well, I gotta go. Bye!" He didn't even wait for Hirokazu's reply and ran off quickly. After all, he had things on his mind. It was imperative that he got to the front of the carriage and stop the beserk Digimon from wrecking the train.

* * * * *

    Terriermon skidded to a halt. There was no way he could progress any further, as there was a firewall in the way. It was like a door made out of horizontally placed lasers and there was no way he could get through it.  
    "Please enter passcode."  
    The furry Digimon scratched his head.  
"Passcode?" he exclaimed in complete surprise. "I don't know any passcode. Jenrya, you think you can help me get past this thing?"  
    "I'm not too good at cracking codes, Terriermon, you should know that," stated Jenrya sternly. "I'll give it a try, though." There was a small pause, as Jenrya attempted a passcode. "Darn, that's not it," muttered Jenrya, upon seeing that the code he tried did nothing. "It's no good. Cracking this password's gonna take up loads of time."  
    That was when a data stream flew down from the sky and struck the path. Growlmon appeared beside the Digimon.  
"Hey, allow us!" offered Growlmon, before he made his way towards the firewall. He knew the password and quickly entered it. The laser beams that made up the firewall flickered and then disappeared.  
    "All right, Growlmon!" cheered Terriermon.  
    "Say, Takato, how did you guys know about that password?" asked Jenrya curiously.  
    "Got it off a conductor," came Takato's brief reply. "Okay, Growlmon. You know where to go now, don't you?"  
    The scaly Digimon nodded in reply.  
"I sure do, Takato," he told his Operator. "Terriermon, come on. Let's go and end this nightmare once and for all." He was about to take one more step further, when his path was suddenly blocked by a huge wall of flames that burned and flickered. "What's going on?"  
    An evil laugh suddenly echoed all around them.  
"Burn! Burn! Must burn!" droned the voice. A Digimon suddenly burst out of the flames and appeared in front of them. The Digimon was like a man on fire with his mouth sewn shut. His eyes glowed an eerie purple, an unnatural colour for a Digimon's eyes. "Meramon must burn everything to the ground!" The Digimon began laughing insanely, before huge balls of fire appeared in its already burning hands.  
    "Watch out!" cried Growlmon, before he rushed straight to Terriermon. He pushed the Digimon out of the way and took the brunt of the fiery Digimon's attack. He cried out in pain as the flames of the Fireball attack hit his wood-style flank.  
    "Growlmon!" cried Takato. "You all right?"  
    "I'll be fine," replied Growlmon through clenched teeth.  
    Takato had a sneaking feeling that Growlmon was just saying that so that he wouldn't worry. Still, he didn't say a word about that.  
"Okay then," sighed Takato. "Let's get this going! DigiModify– Trench activate!" A large hole suddenly appeared in the floor in front of Growlmon and Terriermon. "DigiModify– Geyser activate!"  
    A round sphere appeared in Growlmon's claws. The Digimon didn't need to be told what to do with that. He had experience with a Geyser DMD before. In front of him, Meramon rushed towards them.  
"Oh no, you don't, pal!" roared Growlmon, before he chucked the DMD straight into the trench. There was suddenly a huge explosion and a huge gush of water spurted out of the trench, spraying water droplets all over the place.  
    Meramon cried out in pain, but he didn't back off. A normal Digimon would have retreated from their source of pain, but Meramon was not normal.  
"Must burn!" he continued to chant, as he leapt through the geyser of water, taking even more damage. There was something bizarre about him. It was as if his innate survival program had been switched off and he didn't care if he was to be deleted. "Roaring Flame!" He stopped in his tracks and turned his left shoulder to Growlmon, his two fiery hands cupped together as if they were holding a ball. Meramon shoved his arms forward and a jet of flames roared out from his hands.  
    The two wood-style Digimon leapt out of the way.  
    "Bunny Blast!" Terriermon inhaled and spat out a stream of green energy blasts at Meramon. It did little to harm the fire-style Digimon. "That guy's not normal!" he protested.  
    "Here, try this!" cried out Jenrya. "DigiModify– Fridgimon's Sub Zero Ice Punch activate!"  
    Terriermon's right hand turned into that of Fridgimon and became as cold as one. A smile spread across Terriermon's face. He knew that the Sub Zero Ice Punch DMD would certainly stop the Meramon in its tracks. The furry Digimon rushed forward. Terriermon saw Meramon lash out with a fiery arm. He leapt over the attack, until he was above Meramon and then plunged back down, his fist aimed straight at Meramon's head.  
    "DigiModify– Aqua Balloon Bomb activate!"  
    A small blue balloon appeared in front of Growlmon and it started floating over towards the fiery Meramon. The wood-style Digimon then began attacking the balloon, slashing at it repeatedly with his sharp claws. Growlmon had experimented with a Balloon Bomb before and knew that the more someone attacked it, the more damage a Balloon Bomb would cause. They came in all styles and that was what was so good about them.  
    Meramon roared out wordlessly, as he turned round. He flung fireball after fireball at Terriermon and everything he could attack.  
    Terriermon saw that Meramon's attacks were performed with the blindness of a mad Digimon in a rage. He used that to his advantage and ran straight towards the Aqua Balloon Bomb, being careful not to touch it and hence pop it.  
"Hey, over here, flame boy!" he cried out towards Meramon. "Bet you can't hit me!" Meramon roared out angrily and then threw a huge barrage of fireballs at Terriermon. The furry Digimon performed a back-flip and landed on Growlmon's shoulders.  
    Growlmon took that as his cue. He inhaled sharply and then breathed out. His wood-style version of the Pyro Blaster was a leaf-filled wind and it blew the Aqua Balloon Bomb straight towards Meramon.  
    The Balloon Bomb hit and there was a huge splash of water that engulfed Meramon, making the fire-style Digimon cry out in intense pain.  
    "Whoa! He's still standing!" cried Takato in disbelief. "That can't be!"  
    "Black Gears do that to people," said another voice that didn't belong to any of them.  
    In a flash, a blue-clad figure rushed straight towards Meramon and thrust his hand into the fiery Digimon. A smile was across his grey face, partially covered by the large blue hat he wore. He pulled something out of Meramon, letting the fire-style Digimon collapse against the terminal floor. The mysterious Digimon rose the black object into the air, studying it, his other hand resting on a wooden cane.  
"Marvellous, isn't it?" laughed the Digimon. He turned to face the two Digimon.  
    Growlmon noticed that the Digimon was wearing a long blue coat, that was buttoned up to the side, and that the Digimon also wore blue trousers similar to the colour of his coat and black gloves. The hat that the Digimon wore, covered most of his head, revealing only a small grey face with yellow eyes.  
"Who are you?" asked Growlmon curiously.  
    "My name is Mummymon," replied the Digimon with an evil grin on his face, as he put the black gear-shaped object, which he had torn out of Meramon, into his pocket . "And I am the Second-in-Command for the entire Blue Dragon Syndicate." He lifted his cane and tapped it twice on the floor. "Don't you forget that." There was suddenly a flash of light and then a data stream struck the Digimon, and whisked him out of the train's computer network, leaving the two Digimon behind.

**_To be continued..._**


	11. Transmission 10: Itsumo Itsudemo

**Digimon(2).EXE**

**By Wolf O'Donnell**

WARNING! May contain Alternative Universe situations and out-of-character experiences. Upon reading this, you hereby agree that you forfeit all your rights to sue me and that I cannot be held liable for any psychological or physical damage caused by the fact that I use British English spelling and that this fanfic contains NO graphic depictions of a heterosexual and homosexual nature. Digimon is copyrighted by Bandai and Toei Animation Ltd. Wolf O'Donnell is copyrighted by Nintendo Ltd, although that might have nothing to do with the fanfic. Digimon(2).EXE is based on Rockman.EXE, which is copyrighted by Capcom Ltd. Constructive criticism is very welcome.

* * * * *

Transmission 10: Itsumo Itsudemo  
    The large doors of the Main Elevator Shaft slid open. The Main Elevator Shaft, which was the only one to stop at all three floors of the Orbital Space Ring, was extremely large and extremely fast so as to get to each gigantic level more quickly.  
    Takato stepped out, looking around him. He had never been to the Officials Main Headquarters before and the excitement of his first visit was making his heart beat quickly. The place didn't look as Takato had expected it to look like. It was more like an office block that some futuristic-looking command centre. Of course, the elevator shaft ran through a large, white, circular hall with a mezannine, supported by pillars, surrounding said elevator shaft.  
"Is this it?" he asked Jenrya, whom had visited the place many times before. "This is the Officials' Main HQ?" After all that, he didn't expect the place to be like some office block, complete with rented plants.  
    "Yeah, this is it," said Jenrya with a nod of his head. "What were you expecting?"  
    "Something less office-like," replied Takato, as he walked forward. He, of course, wasn't looking where he was going and instantly slipped on the floor and fell flat on his back. "Ouch, that smarts," he complained, as he leaned slowly back up into a sitting position. He looked down at what he had slipped on and saw that the floor was shiny. He also a symbol that looked like a gigantic red triangle surrounded by three black triangles in such a manner that they formed a six-pointed star. "Say, isn't this the symbol that's on the heads of all the Programs?"  
    A smile spread across Jenrya's face, as he helped Takato back up to his feet.  
"Yeah," he replied with a nod of his head. "It's actually my Grandfather's symbol. The Officials were founded by my Grandfather, Gennai Lee, the Father of all Digimon."  
    "Guys, are you going to stand around here chatting about the Officials or are you going to take Growlmon to see Dad?" asked Terriermon angrily.  
    "Keep your fur on, Terriermon," Jenrya told his Digimon. "We've got plenty of time to get things sorted out."  
    "What about the Black Gears then?" asked Terriermon.  
    "He's got a point there," said Takato, upon realising what Terriermon meant. He could remember what had happened with the Syndicate Digimon, Mummymon. He had said something about a Black Gear, and had torn something out of the Meramon, something that looked black and was gear-like in shape. "We've got to ask your Dad about those Black Gears."  
    Jenrya nodded in agreement.  
"Yeah, okay then," he sighed. "Follow me." He turned round and walked east down the corridor. That was one of the good things about having the levels of the Orbital Space Ring parallel to the ground of the Earth's equator. It meant that the compass directions of north, south, east and west could be used on the Orbital Space Ring.  
    The way to Jenrya's Dad wasn't very complicated. All one had to do after emerging from the Main Elevator Shaft, was to take the steps up to the mezannine, go through the east exit (being careful not to go through the east-south-east exit), follow the corridor down and take the third turn on the left. Go down to the very end and you're there.  
    At one end of Dr. Lee's laboratory was one of those large-screened supercomputers that Takato had dreamt of seeing within the Officials' Main Headquarters. Not too far away from it, was something he had not expected to see; it was an ordinary high-walled office cubicle.  
    "Hi, Miyako!" greeted Jenrya, as he knocked on the open door. "Is my Dad in?"  
    A purple-haired woman stood at the large supercomputer with a clipboard in her hand. She wore a blue bandana on her head in a Gypsy-fashion and wore large glasses.  
"Oh, hi, Jen," she greeted, upon noticing Dr. Lee's son. "Nope, he's not in, I'm afraid, but he'll be back real soon. He just went down to the cafeteria to get a bite to eat, so he won't be long. You wanna wait here?"  
    "Sure, why not?" replied Jenrya with a shrug of his shoulders. "Oh, Miyako, this is my friend, Takato."  
    Miyako walked straight up to Takato and shook his hand.  
"It's nice to meet you, Takato," she greeted the youth. "Have you ever been up here before?" she asked the youth. "No?" she exclaimed in response to Takato's reply. "That's strange. Don't you have a Digimon? You should have at least been here to get your Digimon registered."  
    "My Digimon was a gift from Jenrya's Dad," replied Takato, as he thought of how he had got his Digimon. "It was given to my Dad when I was born, so I guess either he registered it for me or Dr. Lee did."  
    Dr. Lee's assistant nodded in acknowledgement of what she had heard. That explained everything.  
"Say, shouldn't you be in school?" asked Miyako after a moment's silence.  
    "It's Saturday," Jenrya told her. He knew that she was so busy with helping his father out that she often lost track of the time and even the day and time of month!  
    Miyako frowned at that comment.  
"It is?" she exclaimed in sudden surprise. "Oh, no! My date! I was supposed to meet Ken last night!" She couldn't believe it. She reached out and pressed a button on the supercomputer's control panel. Instantly, the simulation displayed on the screen paused. "Oh, I hope he's not too mad with me," she muttered, as she rushed over towards a phone.  
    "Is she always like that?" asked Takato curiously.  
    "Yep," replied Jenrya with a nod of his head, as he crossed his arms and waited. "My Dad's bogged down with so much work that even Ms. Inoue here has too much to deal with. Dad really should try and get another assistant." He sighed and shook his head at the thought of his father. He turned his head to look at the clock, which was situated above the doorway and then saw someone walk in. "Dad!" he exclaimed upon seeing his father.  
    A surprised look spread across Dr. Lee's face.  
"Jenrya? It's so good to see you again, son," he greeted, as he rushed over to his son and gave Jenrya a great big fatherly hug. "So, how's your mother doing?"  
    "She's fine, Dad," replied Jenrya.  
    "That's great," said Jenrya's Father, Jiang Yiu Lee. "Takato, it's nice to see you again, too," he said, as he extended his hand to shake Takato's. "What brings you two up here then?" he asked the two curiously.  
    Takato delved into his coat pocket and fished out his D-Tector.  
"It's my Digimon," replied Takato. "Something happened to him after he got infected with the DarkSpore Virus." He lifted the lid of the phone-like D-Tector and presented it to Dr. Lee. "He digivolved normally, but when he became Growlmon, he kind of changed styles."  
    A frown spread across Jiangyiu's face.  
"Changed styles?" he exclaimed. He took the D-Tector from Takato's hands and pressed a few buttons, searching through it. He soon came to the status screen. "He's not supposed to be a wood-style Digimon," he muttered under his breath. "This is strange. I'll have to examine him carefully. You don't mind if I keep him here overnight, do you? It's just that I have a lot of other things to get on with."  
    There was silence from Takato. Growlmon heard it very well and knew what it meant.  
"Don't worry about me, Takato," said the Digimon. "I'll be fine. You just leave me with Dr. Lee and I'll see you again tomorrow morning."  
    "Actually, I'll be going down to Level 2 tomorrow morning, so I'll leave Growlmon with Jenrya," stated Dr. Lee. "Is that okay?"  
    "I guess so, if it's okay with Jenrya," replied Takato.  
    "It's fine with me," announced Jenrya. "Dad, on the way to the Main Elevator Shaft, the Digimon of one of the train's conductors went beserk and started attacking the train," he told his father. "I'm all right," he said quickly before his father could fuss over him, "it's just that, there was also a Dragon Syndicate Digimon there. The Syndicate Digimon tore something out of the conductor's Digimon. The Syndicate Digimon called it a Black Gear and I think that was what was causing the conductor's Digimon to go beserk. Do you know what that Black Gear thing is? Dad? Are you all right?"  
    Dr. Lee's face had become pale as a sheet, as if he had seen a ghost.  
"Jenrya, let me just check up one thing. Did you say, Black Gear?" he asked nervously. The reply he received filled him with dread. "I thought me and Shibumi cleared all those up."  
    "Dad?"  
    "Son, it's nothing for you to worry about," Dr. Lee told his son sternly. "You just leave everything to the Officials and the DEVAs."  
    Jenrya had this feeling that his father was hiding something from him. He hated it when his father did that, even if it was supposed to be in his best interest.  
"Dad, you could at least tell me what these Black Gears are," said Jenrya sternly. The expression on his face wasn't quite that of anger, but was verging on that fiery emotion. "Dad?"  
    Dr. Lee sighed.  
"The Black Gears are remnants of an old military program that North America was testing out," began Dr. Lee. He paused a while and began to wonder whether it was best to tell them about the Black Gears. If they knew about them, surely they would go after them? That would put them in direct danger and he didn't want that. "Perhaps I shouldn't tell you," he stated after a while. "It's not as if you need to know."  
    He received a stern glare from his son.  
"Okay, okay, I'll tell you," he said, giving into his son's glare. "The North American military developed a program called the Online Operational Killer of Aggressive Mainframe Infections or OOKAMI for short. It was designed to destroy all viruses on the Digital World, but it rebelled against its creators and started destroying the Digimon instead of the viruses. The event was known as the OOKAMI Rebellion. Perhaps you've heard about it in your history lessons?"  
    Both Jenrya and Takato shook their heads silently in reply.  
    Dr. Lee began to wonder. What were they teaching them in school? Well, it didn't matter for now. He continued.  
"We Officials were called in to put an end to it," continued Dr. Lee. "We sent our Digimon to fight against OOKAMI. The battle was a long, difficult one and many a Digimon was lost, but OOKAMI was eventually defeated and shattered to pieces. Those pieces were known other than the Black Gears. On their own, we thought that they would do no harm, and we could find no evidence to support fears that the Gears could combine to recreate OOKAMI, so we left them alone." Dr. Lee sighed, as he reached over to his desk and grabbed a file. "Unfortunately, as time progressed, I found out that there was a chance that the Black Gears could have a nasty side-effect on any Digimon that possessed them, making them go beserk and stark raving mad, so we tried our best to rid the Digital World of these Black Gears."  
    Jenrya suddenly realised the jist of what his father was trying to tell him.  
"The Syndicate beat you guys to it, though, didn't they?" he asked Dr. Lee.  
    "That's right," replied Dr. Lee. "Every time we tried to get a Black Gear, we were too late. They would always be one step ahead of us and the DEVAs, and I have no idea why." His fist clenched tightly at the thought of how they were beaten to the punch every time. Dr. Lee then relaxed his fist, as he went over to his desk and placed Takato's D-Tector on the desk. "Jenrya, Takato, I want you to promise me that you will not go after the Black Gears or Digimon infected with Black Gears."  
    Jenrya shook his head in protest.  
"I'm afraid I can't promise you that, Dad," he told his father. He placed a hand against his D-Tector as if it were a good luck charm that would comfort him in his time of need. "These Black Gears are a menace to society and the Dragon Syndicate is after them. I can't just let them take every Black Gear and recreate the OOKAMI Program. I won't let them have it. I just won't!"  
    Such a strong sense of justice. A smile spread across Dr. Lee's face.  
"You remind me of me when I was your age," he sighed after a silent pause. "Always wanting to fight for the underdog and challenge injustice." He began to wonder whether it was any use for him trying to stop his son from going head on into danger, especially after the Juggernaut Incident. "Well, I guess it would be okay for you to go, but you'll have to upgrade Terriermon first."  
    There was suddenly a ringing noise and it came from Takato's D-Tector. Without thinking, Dr. Lee reached over and picked it up.  
"Hello?" he greeted the person on the other end. "Ruki! Oh, yes, Takato's here. Hang on a minute." He handed Takato's D-Tector back to the brown-haired youth. "Takato, it's Ruki," he announced, as if Takato hadn't heard the first time.  
    "Hi, Ruki?" greeted Takato nervously, as he lifted the D-Tector up to ear in the manner of a phone. He listened as Ruki explained the situation to him carefully. "Okay, I'll load Growlmon on to the Digiworld and send him over to EuroSquare."  
    Dr. Lee was startled by what he heard.  
"What?" he cried out. "Takato, you are doing no such thing!" he protested at the youth's idea. How could Takato be so careless with his Digimon? "Have you forgotten about Growlmon's condition already?" He gave the youth a disapproving look that nearly wilted Takato and extinguished his fiery spirit. "I think it would be best if Growlmon stayed with me."  
    "But Ruki needs my help!" protested Takato.  
    "Hey, what am I, chopped liver?" exclaimed Jenrya angrily. "I could help her too, you know." He quickly snatched Takato's D-Tector from the brown-haired youth's hand. "Hey, Ruki, it's me, Jenrya. Yeah. Growlmon's feeling a bit poorly of late, so I'll be sending Terriermon down to help you. That okay? All right then. I'll see you there." Jenrya then handed the D-Tector back to Takato. "Dad, I'll be logging Terriermon on to the Digiworld and sending him to EuroSquare. Is it okay if I use your computer?"  
    For a while, Dr. Lee did not reply. Jenrya's father was too busy rummaging through his drawers.  
"Hang on," he called out to his son, as he fished through its contents. "Ah! Found it!" He pulled out a chip from his drawer. "Sure, Jenrya, you can use my computer. Use the direct link to Zerva to take you straight to EuroSquare." Dr. Lee turned round and handed the chip to Jenrya as he said, "And please take this too. It'll upgrade your Digimon to Ultimate level. Use it for Terriermon and then send the data to Ruki so she can upgrade her Digimon."  
    A smile spread on Jenrya's face.  
"Thanks, Dad," he thanked his father.

* * * * *

    "There's too many of them!" cried Dobermon, as he leapt back.  
    The entire terminal was filled with viruses of all sorts. There were Vandal.1869 viruses and Vandal.4096 viruses, as well as Semtex.A viruses and Brain Viruses. Most formidable of all were the Vandal series viruses, which were protected by an ability to become as hard as rock when they weren't attacking, thus reducing all attack damage to the minutest possible amount.  
    Cyberdramon didn't comment, however, as a Vandal.1869 floated towards him. It was shaped like a spraypaint can and was completely grey. He waited for the moment it attacked. The Vandal.1869 became blue with a yellow stripe. Its top compressed and a spray of poison gas ejected from its top. Cyberdramon roared and leapt over the gas and landed behind the Vandal.1869, striking his claws straight into the virus. He was too slow, however, as the Vandal.1869 had become stone again.  
    "Look out!" warned Ryo.  
    A Semtex.A virus, which looked like a gigantic white glove, placed a time bomb right behind Cyberdramon, before floating off. The digital clock counted down from three and soon reached zero, before exploding and engulfing the Ultimate-level Digimon in the fiery blast.  
    Cyberdramon was flown forwards by the force of the blast and crashed to the terminal floor with a heavy thud. He tried his best to get up, but his digital muscles were sore and weak. Yet, he knew he had to get up. The Digimon had to help delete the viruses that infected the traffic signals of Kokobashi City, the capital of Spyrol. With a loud battle cry, he rushed straight at the viruses.

**_To be continued..._**


	12. Transmission 11: Tomadoi

**Digimon(2).EXE**

**By Wolf O'Donnell**

WARNING! May contain Alternative Universe situations and out-of-character experiences. Upon reading this, you hereby agree that you forfeit all your rights to sue me and that I cannot be held liable for any psychological or physical damage caused by the fact that I use British English spelling and that this fanfic contains NO graphic depictions of a heterosexual and homosexual nature. Digimon is copyrighted by Bandai and Toei Animation Ltd. Wolf O'Donnell is copyrighted by Nintendo Ltd, although that might have nothing to do with the fanfic. Digimon(2).EXE is based on Rockman.EXE, which is copyrighted by Capcom Ltd. Constructive criticism is very welcome.

* * * * *

Transmission 11: Tomadoi  
    Takato looked at the computer screen and at the garbled computer code that ran across it. So this was what Growlmon's digital data looked like.  
"I hope you're going to be okay, Growlmon," he told his Digimon, as he sat next to Dr. Lee. "We've been through a lot together and I'd hate to lose you now because of some virus."  
    "Yeah," agreed Growlmon. "Hey, you remember when I was first given to you by your Dad?"  
    "Sure do, buddy," replied Takato with a nod of his head. "It was on my sixth birthday." He smiled at that memory. "I remember wanting to plug the D-Scanner and load you to the Digiworld so that we could explore it together, but the Digital World was under attack from that mysterious virus, was't it?" He was so caught up in his memories that he did not notice a momentary nervous expression pass across Dr. Lee's face. "My parents wouldn't allow me to plug you into the Digiworld, but we still managed to do something together, didn't we? I remember going to Jenrya's and showing you off to him." He laughed at that memory. "Was Jenrya surprised or what? The moment he saw my Digimon he challenged us to a DigiBattle. Just you and Terriermon and he creamed us coz we didn't have any DMDs," he chuckled.  
    "Really?" asked Growlmon curiously. "I don't remember that."  
    "Oh, sorry," apologised Dr. Lee, as he suddenly realised his mistake. He then pressed two keys on the keyboard and undid his accidental deletion of Growlmon's memories. "There, is that better?"  
    For a while, Growlmon didn't reply. It was as if he was in thought.  
"Yeah, that's much better," replied Growlmon. He could remember how after the fight, Jenrya had given them their first DigiModify Chip, Hyper Speed. "Say, Dr. Lee, do you have any idea what's wrong with me? I went to a DigiHospital and they had no idea what was going on."  
    "I have an idea as to what the virus did to you," began Dr. Lee, as he continued typing away on the keyboard. "The virus has installed some strange program to you. It's like some kind of glitch. Your digital body will change after a certain number of battles against viruses, according to what DMDs you used in the battle and how you fought." He tapped the enter key a few times and then looked at the screen more carefully, studying the code. "That should do it!" he exclaimed. "Takato, Growlmon is now a very adaptable Digimon. I've altered his data so that he can store three different styles."  
    Takato didn't understand one bit and so he told Dr. Lee that.  
"How does Growlmon change styles? How does it work?" asked Takato curiously.  
    "Well, let's use an example," said Dr. Lee thoughtfully. "Let's say that Growlmon fights a battle and uses only water-style DMDs and a lot of them. The program the virus installed will, after a certain number of battles, alter Growlmon into a water-style, data-type Digimon. If, however, Growlmon merely used a few electric-style DMDs and fought using his own abilities most of the time, then the program would change him into an electric-style, virus-type Digimon and so on."  
    "And if Growlmon used only defensive DMDs, he'd change into a vaccine-type Digimon?" suggested Takato.  
    "Yes, that's right," replied Dr. Lee with a nod of his head. "Now, Takato, I've changed Growlmon back into his original mode. That will remain the same and can never be deleted. However, you will only be able to store two more modes. The wood-style, data-type mode is currently stored in the D-Tector, so you've got room for one more."  
    One more style? Takato took the D-Tector back from Dr. Lee and looked at it thoughtfully. Perhaps he and Growlmon could work on a third mode and change the Digimon into an electric-style, vaccine-type Digimon.  
"Thanks, Dr. Lee," he thanked Jenrya's father. Thoughts then shifted towards Jenrya and Rapidmon. He glanced over towards Dr. Lee's son, whom was using a different computer not too far away. Takato was about to go and help when his D-Tector suddenly began ringing. "Hi, Takato here," he greeted the person on the other end, when he raised his D-Tector to his ear. "Ryo?"  


    "It's getting real bad down here at Kokobashi," continued Ryo, as he looked at the traffic lights. "The traffic signals are going beserk and you know the buses are automated. We're getting really horrible bus crashes down here and there's too many viruses in the traffic signals for us to deal with. You think you can come down and help us out?" He waited a while for the reply. "Thanks. I'll be seeing ya!" He then hung up and lowered his D-Tector to look at the screen. "It's no good, is it?" he asked Alice.  
    The blonde-haired girl shook her head.  
"I'm afraid not," she told Ryo. "Our Digimon are completely outnumbered, even if we use Combos against the viruses." She glanced down back at her screen and saw that her Digimon was in trouble. "Hang on, Dobermon," she called out to her furry Digimon. Alice then pressed a few buttons. "DigiModify– Hyper Speed activate!"  
    "Another bus is coming!"

* * * * *

    Taomon looked down at herself. She had finally digivolved back to her Ultimate form and that was kind of satisfying. A smile spread across her lips.  
"Now it's payback time," she told the viruses, before she brought out a huge brush and aimed it straight at the viruses, which looked like a sword. "Talisman of Light!" Taomon drew a symbol in the air and it glowed brightly like the light from a thousand suns.  
    The symbol flew down at the viruses and deleted two of the Sword viruses.  
    "Eat this! Rapidfire!" cried Rapidmon, as he fired one missile after another down at the viruses below. They looked like a ghost wearing a helmet and an incredibly huge shield that covered most of their body. Each one carried a sword and these were known as Knight viruses. "Ha! That takes care of you!" he cried, after seeing each one of the viruses deleted by his attacks.  
    The Digimon in front of them shrieked out in anger. The beserk Digimon was covered in armour and was known as Knightmon by the locals. He was supposed to be the one guarding EuroSquare, but now he was creating viruses to destroy the place.  
"Viruses! Viruses!" chanted Knightmon, as he drew his Sword. "Must delete all viruses!" Knightmon roared out a battle cry, before he charged straight towards Rapidmon. "Destroy! Destroy!" He swung his sword straight at Rapidmon, but missed, as the green-armoured Digimon flew out of the way. "Wretched virus!"  
    "For the last time, we're not viruses!" protested Rapidmon, but his words fell on deaf ears. He dodged another attack, as the Knightmon leapt up at him, trying to spear the Digimon from beneath. "Man, these Black Gears sure do make them go nuts."  
    "We may have to delete him," stated Ruki.  
    "What? We can't!" protested Rapidmon.  
    "I'm afraid we may have to, Rapidmon," said Jenrya, taking Ruki's side. "We have no idea as to how get that Black Gear out of him, and if he carries on like this, then we'll have no other choice."  
    Taomon thrust her arms forward and fired a barrage of paper spells down at Knightmon. Each one of the paper parchments stuck onto Knightmon, binding him tightly to one position.  
"There, that should stop him long enough for us to remove the Black Gear," she commented. Her pupils suddenly widened in complete amazement. "Watch out! He's producing more viruses!" She dived down and swung her huge brush down at one of the emerging Sword viruses, sending it flying away from Rapidmon.  
    The spells that Taomon placed on Knightmon began to burn with a black fire, as Knightmon began to move.  
"Must delete!" roared Knightmon. "Must delete viruses with viruses!" He spread his armour-clad arms upwards and more viruses budded out from his body. The Digimon began to laugh insanely, as the viruses spread out from his body and swarmed towards Rapidmon and Taomon.  


    "We must find the source of all these viruses!" cried Dobermon, as he leapt over another Brain Virus. He turned round to face it. It looked just like a brain and was deadly due to its electric-style attacks. The canine Digimon saw the virus charging up, crackling with electricity. "Not this time!" he howled, before he rushed straight at the Brain Virus and tore through it with his sharp teeth, ripping the virus to shreds.  
    "Cyberdramon, you've got to hurry!" cried Ryo. There was a tone of panic in his voice and he had good reason to be so worried. "The traffic lights are changing more rapidly now and the bus is getting closer!"  
    The Ultimate Digimon merely growled in acknowledgement, as he fought off a Ninja.1195 virus, which looked like a monkey in a black ninja suit. They were quick, quicker than he could ever be and that was made them so formidable compared to him. Whenever Cyberdramon attacked, he would find his claws swiping through thin air. He tried again, but missed once more. With a wordless roar, Cyberdramon slammed his hands down into the terminal causing the floor to ripple out in front of him like a tsunami wave. It splintered into pieces, sending sharp shards flying upwards, catching the Ninja virus with them.  
    Cyberdramon flew forward, seeing the Ninja Virus was taken by surprise. He smashed his right fist into the virus and sent it flying. With a snarl, he then cupped his two hands together and fired a white beam of energy straight at the virus. Each beam smashed into the Ninja.1195 virus, sending it flying back into the air again and again.

* * * * *

    Takato emerged from the elevator shaft and looked around in horror. Only a few metres away from him, at a junction, was a huge nine-car pile up. The youth looked up at the traffic signals and saw that they were indeed changing erratically, from red to green to yellow to green again and red and so on. He looked down and saw that the forcefield that usually prevented cars from running red lights, and also safe guarded pedestrians crossing the road, was flickering erratically.  
"This ain't good, Growlmon," he told his Digimon.  
    "Look out!"  
    A bus careered round the corner and passed through the flickering forcefield, before crashing straight into the other wrecked vehicles, sending one wrecked car flying off the road and straight into a nearby building.  
    "We'd better get going, Takato," suggested Growlmon. From within Takato's D-Tector, he had heard the crash and was worried for the human beings that might have been in the bus. "If this carries on, there'll be a lot more casualties."  
    Takato nodded in agreement, even though Growlmon couldn't see him nod.  
"You're right," he agreed with Growlmon, before he dashed to the kerb and stopped, looking bothways, and then crossed carefully. He suddenly skidded to a halt. "Whoa! It seems that there are crashes going on all over the city!" Takato looked upwards, at the metallic ceiling high above him and the buildings of Kokobashi. "I wonder if the Officials are going to take action?"  
    Something caught his attention out of the corner of his eye.  
"There they are!" he exclaimed all of a sudden. Takato rushed fowrard and suddenly found his way blocked. "What?" he exclaimed in surprise.  
    Here on the Orbital Space Ring, whether it be in Inphynitio, Spyrol, Dyjitopia or Phyle, forcefields prevented pedestrians from straying off the roads, which forced people to cross at crossing points or using subway crossings.  
    Takato found himself prevented from crossing by one of those forcefields. He looked around.  
"The traffics signals are green both ways!" he cried in horror. There had to be a way he could cross the road. There had to be another way. "Hey, Ryo!" he shouted to the other brown-haired youth across the road. He got a wave back and Ryo shouted for Takato to use the subway crossing a few blocks down to cross over. "Okay, I'll see you in a bit!" shouted back Takato, before he ran westwards.  


    His Excellency's gloved hands were tented, as he rested his elbows on the sides of his chair. If he had a mouth, he would have been smiling. As it was, his eyes merely glistened with pleasure as he sat in his chair with his back to the large double doors behind him.  
    The computer monitor on the desk behind him showed much progress. Already, the Black Gears were crackling with energy and when he had enough, he would be able to create the Super Digimon known only as Beelzemon. There would be no need to try and find the original copy. He would be able to create one Beelzemon after another and with an army of Beelzemon, he would be able to complete the task at which he had failed so long ago.  
    The Leader of the Dragon Syndicate closed his eyes and imagined the new world order, one that would be controlled by him. All the other crime syndicates– Red Phoenix, Snake and Tortoise, White Tiger– would all be wiped out. The DarkNet would be under his control and he would turn it into his very own private network from which all his Beelzemon would be created. With arn army of Beelzemon, he would be able to maintain order and secure the Digital World as his own domain to rule over like a King.  
    The Dragon Syndicate Leader chuckled in joy at the thought of his New World Order.  
"Begin Gear fusion!" he ordered.  


    The power all over Kokobashi began to flicker violently.  
    Ryo looked around him, ignoring the fight between his Digimon and the viruses within the traffic signals. Something wasn't quite right. Then he realised something. Had the Dragon Syndicate thugs managed to get back into the Power Plant like they did the last time? The lights returned, as if nothing had happened.  
"What was that?" he wondered out loud.  
    "I have no idea," replied Alice with a shake of her head. "Hey, get Cyberdramon over! I think Dobermon's found the source of all these viruses."

* * * * *

    Dobermon's lips were raised into a snarl, as he stood there. In front of him was the source of all the viruses. He could clearly see that it was a Program, yet its usually adorably cute exterior had been twisted into something hideously evil. His keen sense of smell told him that there was something extremely wrong with the Program. It was as if something else was inside it. A virus, perhaps? Well, there was only one way to find out.  
    With a cry of his battle howl, Dobermon charged towards the Program. He leapt straight at it and tried his best to attack the Digimon. His teeth couldn't get a hold on the Program, as its body seemed to be as hard as diamond and as strong as titanium. Dobermon leapt back and surveyed the Program. The insane smirk was still on its face and the Program was still intact.  
"What is up with that Program?" he wondered out loud. Did it have some kind of StoneBod DMD, which made the Program impervious to all damage?  
    "Must delete," droned the Program. "Must delete all viruses!" It raised its stubby arms into the air and charged up a sphere of eerie green energy. "Must fight viruses with viruses!" The Program threw the sphere of green energy straight at Dobermon, only for the Digimon to leap out of the way.  
    The green energy sphere splintered into four smaller pieces of energy. The glow from each piece began to dim down, to reveal that they were in fact viruses. Two of them were Ninja.1264 viruses, a stronger version of the Ninja.1195. The third was a Sandy Virus, a virus that looked as if it was made entirely out of sand. The fourth was a Brainy, a stronger version of the Brain Virus.  
    The Brainy virus, which looked like a grey version of the Brain Virus, began to crackle with electricity as it floated towards Dobermon. The electrical attack of a Brainy was enough to paralyse any virus or Digimon and that was what made it so formidable, since it was always paired with a hard hitting virus like the Ninja viruses.  
    "Guys, hurry!" cried Ryo.  
    A huge bolt of electricity flew through the air and struck Dobermon, paralysing every muscle program with Dobermon. The Digimon foud himself unable to move and that was when the Ninja viruses lunged in for the attack. Each one threw several sharp shuriken at Dobermon, hitting him on target. The Sandy virus moved over and lunged forwards, engulfing Dobermon in its sandy body.  
    Cyberdramon suddenly rushed in and grabbed the Brainy virus.  
"Take this!" he roared, before flinging it straight towards the Ninja viruses. The three viruses collided with each other and were knocked over like bowling pins. "Strike!" He then turned to glare at the Sandy virus. With another roar, he rushed towards it and slashed away at the Sandy viruses grainy body over and over again. It was no use.  
    "Hang on, Dobermon!" called out Alice. "DigiModify– Biyomon's Spiral Twister activate! DigiModify- Hypre Speed activate!"  
    A gust of wind suddenly blew the Sandy virus away from Dobermon. The canine Digimon then ran straight for the Sandy Virus. He charged straight towards it and lowered his head, running through the virus, punching a hole in its body and emerging out the other side. Dobermon stopped with a doggy smile on his face, as he turned round to face the virus. It crumbled away into nothing.  
    "Let's go get that Program," said Dobermon to Cyberdramon.  
    Cyberdramon nodded silently in reply. There was no need for him to communicate with words. He knew what Dobermon wanted him to do; it was evident from the way Dobermon was acting. The two Digimon then leapt into action, flying straight at the infected Program. Whether they would succeed in removing the Black Gear from the Program was another matter.

**_To be continued..._**


	13. Transmission 12: Walk on the Edge

**Digimon(2).EXE**

**By Wolf O'Donnell**

WARNING! May contain Alternative Universe situations and out-of-character experiences. Upon reading this, you hereby agree that you forfeit all your rights to sue me and that I cannot be held liable for any psychological or physical damage caused by the fact that I use British English spelling and that this fanfic contains NO graphic depictions of a heterosexual and homosexual nature. Digimon is copyrighted by Bandai and Toei Animation Ltd. Wolf O'Donnell is copyrighted by Nintendo Ltd, although that might have nothing to do with the fanfic. Digimon(2).EXE is based on Rockman.EXE, which is copyrighted by Capcom Ltd. Constructive criticism is very welcome.

Author's Note: I've been asked about whether I could include some Season 4 characters later on in this fanfic. The answer to this question is no. I don't know anything about Season 4, as it hasn't (to the best of my knowledge) come out in the UK. As with the previous fanfic, Digimon.EXE, Season 4 characters will only appear in cameos as posters hanging on people's walls or will only have passing references made to them. I cannot do better, I'm afraid. The situation might change in Digimon.EXE 3, my final ever Digimon fanfic, but I severely doubt it.

* * * * *

Transmission 12: Walk on the Edge  
    Knightmon swung his sword down at Taomon, but the fox Digimon's forcefield protected her from harm.  
"Must delete," grunted Knightmon emotionlessly, as he swung his sword again. "Delete! DELETE!"  
    It was taking all of Taomon's strength to maintain the forcefield. She was weakening by the second and Knightmon's incessant emotionless rambling wasn't helping.  
"Rapidmon, hurry up!" cried out Taomon.  
    "I'm doing my best!" shouted back Rapidmon, as he fired missile after missile at the Knightmon's back. He could clearly see the Black Gear sticking out of his armour and was doing his best to dislodge it. However, it seemed that Knightmon was impervious to damage and that the Black Gear was stuck good. "Darn it!" he cursed angrily, before he flew down and kicked at the Black Gear.  
    Knightmon roared out in pain.  
    A frown appeared on Rapidmon's face, not that it could be seen underneath his armour.  
"Oh, so you don't like that, huh?" he exclaimed. "Well, how's about some more?" He kicked out at the Black Gear again, but Knightmon whirled round. "Uh oh," was all Rapidmon could manage to say, before an armoured fist collided with his face and sent him flying across the square and crashing into a DMD stall.  
    A couple of DMDs clattered on to the floor in front of Rapidmon.  
"Hey, that would be great," he exclaimed, as he saw one in front of him. He grabbed it. "Jenrya, activate this DMD quick!" he called out to his Operator.  
    "Rapidmon, you didn't pay for that!" chided Jenrya.  
    "Does it really matter?" asked Rapidmon, as he gestured towards Knightmon. "Besides, I'm only borrowing it."  
    Jenrya sighed.  
"Oh, okay," he agreed with his Digimon. "DigiModify– Catcher activate!"  
    Taomon suddenly cried out. Something was terribly wrong and the fact that she was flickering with static was testament to that fact.  
"Ruki! What's going on?" she cried out in fear. The Digimon had never experienced something so weird before. It felt as if she was being pulled one way and pulled another at the same time. "Ruki!" she screamed, before the gravity of the situation won out and she was pulled upwards by a mysterious datastream.  
    "Taomon!" cried out Rapidmon. "What did you do to her?" he shouted at Knightmon, but it was useless; Knightmon wouldn't respond. Rapidmon cried out angrily and he flung his DMD straight at Knightmon and watched as the Catcher DMD turned it into a flying saucer.  
    The Catcher DMD smashed straight into Knightmon, knocking the knight Digimon over. The Catcher curved back upwards with something in its grasp. It was the Black Gear! The Catcher turned back round like a boomerang and flew straight back towards Rapidmon.  
    "I'll take that!" A blue streak passed the Catcher DMD and removed the Black Gear from it.  
    "Hey!" cried out Rapidmon angrily. "Who do you think you are?" He suddenly gasped. That blue trenchcoat. That blue hat. That cane. It could only have been one Digimon. "You!" he shouted even more angrily than before. "Mummymon!"  
    A smile spread across Mummymon's grey face, as he turned round to face Rapidmon.  
"I see you remember me," he chuckled. He then made a flourish of a bow to Rapidmon. "It is a pleasure to meet you again. You are Jenrya Lee's Digimon, are you not?" Mummymon laughed at the incredulous expression on Rapidmon's face. "Come now, don't be so surprised. After all, I am a Syndicate Digimon. We have to know our enemies, even if it means hacking into the Officials' Databases."  
    "You fiend! Give that Black Gear back!" shouted Jenrya.  
    Mummymon shook his head.  
"I'm afraid that I cannot do that," he told Jenrya and Rapidmon, "unless of course, you wish to fight me for it." He chuckled again, before saying, "However, I doubt that you'd be able to beat me if you do."  
    "You wish!" retorted Rapidmon. "I'm going beat you so badly, your Operator'll feel it!"  
    The Syndicate Digimon flung his cane aside. Mummymon began laughing insanely, as his entire body seemed to convulse and tense into tetanus. The blue garments began to disintegrate into tiny bits of digital data that flew up into the air and disappeared to reveal the bandages that covered his body. Mummymon metamorphosed.  
"Behold my true form!" he laughed insanely. He now looked like a bandaged Egyptian mummy with elfin shaped ears, and everything below his hips was covered with the bottom half of an Egyptian coffin.  
    The bandaged Digimon extended his arms out and two coffins dropped down in front of him and floated above the floor in the same fashion that he did. Mummymon then gestured for Rapidmon to advance.  
"Come get some," he taunted.  
    One of the coffins opened and Rapidmon saw there was a ray gun inside it. The ray gun opened fire, letting out a large green laser that flew at him. He flew out of the way.  
"What have you done to Taomon?" he shouted at the Mummymon, as he flew straight towards his Syndicate opponent. The other coffin flew into the way and blocked his attack.  
    The coffin door opened and flung Rapidmon away from itself. The Digimon saw a couple of grenades fly out of the coffin. He flew sideways, avoiding them and letting them crash into the floor behind him and explode. Rapidmon opened fire, letting rip with a couple of missiles. The coffins got in the way once again.  
"Coward!" accused Rapidmon, before he flew higher up into the air. "Tri-Beam!" He extended his arms out and created a triangular, green beam that flew through the air.  
    One of the coffins opened and a pure black cube dropped out of the sky and crashed on to the floor in front of Mummymon. The beam hit the cube and disintegrated it, but didn't pass through and hit Mummymon.  
    "Is that the best you can do?" taunted Mummymon. He crossed his arms. "Snake Bandage!" One of the coffins opened up and a ream of bandages flew out and wrapped around Rapidmon.  
    "DigiModify– Hyper Force activate!" announced Jenrya.  
    With a new found strength, Rapidmon spread his arms out and tore through the bandages that bound him. He then fired another round of missiles at Mummymon, letting each one curve into a different pathway. Due to the Hyper Force DMD, his missiles now exploded with more power, creating large balls of fire. Each one of his missiles crashed into the floor around Mummymon, creating huge explosions that inevitably engulfed the bandaged Digimon.  
    The first coffin opened and fired a huge beam of energy that caught Rapidmon in the chest.  


    Dobermon rushed straight at the Program, but missed the mark. He watched as the white Program rose above them.  
"Stay still!" he growled.  
    The Program laughed at them, as it raised its stubby arms into the air again. Sparks of electricity crackled, flying between the Program's raised hands.  
"Must delete!" it called out. "Must delete all viruses! Must delete all viruses and..." The electricity that was building up between the Program's hands became brilliant blue with pure intensity, as its eyes glowed an eerie green. "Must delete all viruses and avenge OOKAMI!" It then spread its stubby arms and let fly with a bolt of electricty that struck Dobermon in the flank, electrocuting the Digimon. "OOKAMI Forever!"  
    "Dobermon!" cried out Alice.  
    "DigiModify– StormCloud activate!" announced Ryo.  
    "Hang on!" roared out Cyberdramon, before a sphere appeared in his hands. Using all his strength, he tossed it above the Program.  
    The sphere turned into a loud, dark cloud and it began to rain. The water drops splattered against the electrically charged Program, short-circuiting every part of the Program. It cried out in pain, as the rain drenched it and the Black Gear.  
"No! Must delete!" cried out the Program, as it writhed in pain. "Must delete all viruses!" The Program cried out in pain as it crashed into the floor. The Black Gear in its back popped out of the Program, flying up into the air.  
    It then fell onto one of the Ninja Viruses the Program had created. The Black Gear spun round like a buzzsaw and dove straight into the Ninja virus, making it cry out inhumanely. The Ninja virus began to mutate and become taller, more pear-shaped and lost its tail. Its became more tall and less monkey-like with every mutation. The Black Gear was mutating the virus into something even more virulent than the original.  
    Cyberdramon braced himself for the inevitable fight that would ensue. Every muscle program was tense. His mind was set on fighting this new agent of the Black Gears, that he had forgotten about the wounds that Dobermon had suffered.  
    The new Ninja virus looked more like a human ninja with a red scarf than the original virus ever did. Its eyes were far more human-like than they used to be, but they were cold and soulless.  
"Soon OOKAMI shall be reborn," said the virus in a growling voice. The Ninja leapt into the air and threw out a couple of shuriken straight at the prone, unconscious body of Dobermon.  
    Ryo's Digimon rushed towards Dobermon, but there wasn't any time to push the canine Digimon out of the way. Instead, Cyberdramon leapt in front and took the brunt of the Ninja's attacks. He did not cry out in pain, but anger, as he leapt into the air and lashed out at the Ninja with his claws. His claws slashed through thin air, as the Ninja virus ducked underneath the blow and unsheathed a sword. The blade cut into Cyberdramon's scaly side, as a fist smashed into his lower jaw.  
    The Ninja pulled back, only to lunge forward, thrusting the tip of his sword towards Cyberdramon with quick short jabs that made his arm blur into a thousand. All this time, the virus laughed with a voice that sounded like two voices. The Ninja virus then leapt at Cyberdramon and performed a superb roundhouse kick that knocked the Ultimate Digimon backwards.  
    "Hold on, buddy!" cried out Ryo. "I've got a good Combo lined up. Alice, take this Heal DMD and use it to get Dobermon back up to his feet."  
    "Right," agreed Alice. "DigiModify– Giga Heal activate!"  
    A white data stream emerged from the floor beneath Dobermon's prone body and shot skywards. Bathed in the light, Dobermon felt his every wounds heal. The DMD refreshed him and revitalised his digital body. A smile spread across his furry muzzle.  
"It's time to bite some virus arse!" he stated, before he rushed straight towards the mutated Ninja virus. He opened his jaw wide and slashed at the virus with his teeth.  
    Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the Ninja virus turn its sword at him. Dobermon leapt back and heard Alice call out to him. She was DigiModifying him again and the DMD she was using wasn't a bad one. Dobermon opened his mouth and let rip with a ball of fire that flew through the air towards the Ninja virus. He missed...

* * * * *

    Ruki tried to move, but found herself unable to. Every time she tried, she found her arms bound against this strange purple-grey mist that enveloped her. The strange thing about it was that it didn't even seem like a mist.  
"Taomon, can you get a reading on this?" asked Ruki.  
    "The D-Tector's not that good, Ruki," Taomon told her Operator. "However, I can tell that its definitely not poisonous." The Digimon had some questions of her own. For example, how was it that she was in EuroSquare one moment and then the next, she was trapped in her D-Tector? It didn't make sense. "So, you still can't move?"  
    If Ruki could shake her head, she would have, but even that was impossible. All that was possible was the movement of her very own lips and thankfully, her lungs.  
"Nope," she replied abruptly. If she could, she would have phoned Takato or the others. As it was, she was stuck in this mist that had suddenly and mysteriously engulfed the DEVA Organisation's Main Headquarters. "I wonder if anybody outside has noticed what's going on inside here?"

* * * * *

    Mummymon laughed, as he floated over towards the unconscious body of Rapidmon. He looked up, as if to expect to see Jenrya's face.  
"See, boy? You are nothing against the Blue Dragon Syndicate!" he shouted up at Jenrya. "Your Digimon has fallen and I am the victorious one!"  
    "I... don't think so."  
    The bandaged Digimon looked down and saw Rapidmon struggling to get back to his feet. This surprised Mummymon. He hadn't expected a Digimon to withstand the full blast of his cannon. Something made the Digimon think that Rapidmon was more special than the other Digimon he had encountered.  
"So, you're still operational, huh?" he chuckled, as he floated back. His two protective coffins floated in front of him like shields. "Well, I'll fix that and delete you real quick." He crossed his arms and both of his coffins opened up.  
    An Anubis statue fell to the ground and began emitting a purple, poisonous gas. The other coffin then fired a beam of pure energy straight at Rapidmon, being careful not to hit the statue.  
    Rapidmon leapt up into the air and over the laser beam.  
"You're not taking the Black Gear out of here!" he cried, as he fired a couple of missiles down at the statue. One of the coffins moved in and blocked his missile, shielding the statue from all harm. "Darn it!" he choked, as the purple gas started to get to him. "If this carries on, there'll be huge bugs in my system. I might crash. Jen, how's the DMDs coming?"  
    "I've already got one loaded" replied Jenrya. "Here goes! DigiModify– Lava Line activate!" The floor on which the Anubis statue stood suddenly became hot molten lava and the statue sank in and melted. Without its source, the gas dissipated. "DigiModify– Mag Line activate!"  
    A smile spread across Rapidmon's face, as he saw a magnetic line of tiles appear. It drew the coffins and Mummymon on to them.  
"All right, Jen!" cried out Rapidmon. From what he saw, he could tell what his Operator was going to do. "It's the Multi Punch Combo, isn't it?" He received a reply that confirmed his suspicions. "That's brilliant." He then opened fire with some missiles.  
    They curved round and hit Mummymon's exposed back, making him cry out in pain.  
"I can't believe that you have such a DMD!" he cried out angrily. "Well, no matter. I have one myself!" He spread his arms and his coffins slammed into the floor, shattering the magnetic tiles and breaking their magnetic hold on him. Mummymon looked up at Rapidmon and laughed, as he lifted the Black Gear up into the air. "You think that you can defeat the Dragon Syndicate if you defeat me? Ha! Such a foolish Digimon for such a foolish Operator." Mummymon tossed it into the air and the Black Gear was caught by a data stream and whisked away.  
    "What have you done?" cried Rapidmon.  
    "The Black Gear is now where Taomon probably is," laughed Mummymon. "They're all at DEVA Headquarters, where our Syndicate Leader is using the DEVA Supercomputer to fuse the Black Gears into a Super Digimon!" He raised his hand and in response, one of his coffins shot into the air and straight towards Rapidmon. "Now, I shall delete you!"  
    "I don't think so, pal!" cried Jenrya. "DigiModify– Hyper Speed activate! DigiModify– Heavy Punch activate! DigiModify– Desolation Claw activate!" The three DMDs merged together to form one special Combo. "DigiModify- Hyper Punch activate!"  
    Rapidmon whirled round. The guns on his arms disappeared to reveal his furry hands. He then began punching the air and sent several rocky fists flying through the air like rockets. Each one smashed into the coffins ruthlessly with machine-gun-like quickness and was so forceful that it sent it flying back into Mummymon. The coffin fell on Mummymon and crushed him underneath it and seconds later, he was deleted.  


    The Ninja virus split off into three clones. Two were transparent and were obviously not the real versions. All three versions of the virus rushed forwards and slashed their swords at Cyberdramon and Dobermon, catching both Digimon. The swords were all real.  
    "It's no use!" cried Ryo in horror. "We can't get to the switch."  
    "The bus'll crash!" cried Alice in horror.  
    The three Ninja viruses merged back into the original copy. It leapt into the air, bringing its sword high above its head and then swung it vertically in an arc down at the two Digimon below it. There was suddenly a clang of metal. The Ninja virus had a shocked look on its face, as it saw that a lance had blocked its attack.  
    "Gallantmon!"  
    "Takato!"  
    A smile spread across Gallantmon's face, hidden underneath his helmet.  
"Hey, miss me, guys?" he commented, before he swung his lance upwards with such force that the virus lost its grip on its sword. Gallantmon rushed towards the virus and smashed into it with his shield, before turning his other shoulder and knocking it over. "Lightning Joust!" He thrust the lance straight into the virus and speared it.  
    It cried out and burst into bits of digital data that flew into the air to reveal the Black Gear, which then shattered into a million pieces and broke.

* * * * *

    Takato turned round and saw the bus slowing down in response to the now functioning traffic signals. A smile spread across his face.  
"Sorry about the delay, but I got caught up near the DEVA Headquarters," he told them. He turned back to look down the street and the grey-purple mist that enveloped the building that was DEVA HQ. "Something weird's going on there and I have a feeling that the Dragon Syndicate is behind it."

**_To be continued..._**


	14. Transmission 13: Itsu ka no Iro

**Digimon(2).EXE**

**By Wolf O'Donnell**

WARNING! May contain Alternative Universe situations and out-of-character experiences. Upon reading this, you hereby agree that you forfeit all your rights to sue me and that I cannot be held liable for any psychological or physical damage caused by the fact that I use British English spelling and that this fanfic contains NO graphic depictions of a heterosexual and homosexual nature. Digimon is copyrighted by Bandai and Toei Animation Ltd. Wolf O'Donnell is copyrighted by Nintendo Ltd, although that might have nothing to do with the fanfic. Digimon(2).EXE is based on Rockman.EXE, which is copyrighted by Capcom Ltd. Constructive criticism is very welcome.

* * * * *

Transmission 13: Itsu ka no Iro  
    "This is Rosa Maridonna reporting to you live from downtown Kokobashi," announced the news reporter, "where a strange mist has suddenly enshrouded the Main World Headquarters for the DEVA Organisation." She stepped slightly to the side, giving the camera a better shot of the purple-grey mist. "As of yet, the Officials have been unable to unidentify the mist and the DEVAs are unavailable. We believe that trapped inside are several DEVA employees, the Leader of the DEVAs, Colonel Yukio Oikawa and one DEVA Cadet, Ruki Makino."  
    Dr. Lee reached out and switched off the television, shutting off the broadcast with a sigh. Not since the radiation incident at Phyle had there been such an emergency on the Orbital Space Ring and like the radiation incident, he had a feeling that this purple-grey mist was just the precursor and front for something more sinister.  
"Are you sure you want to go in there?" asked Dr. Lee. "It's just, I don't want you to be involved this time."  
    "Why not?" protested Jenrya. "I've been safe up until now and so have the others." He gestured back towards Takato, Ryo and Alice behind him. "We've managed to survive everything that the Dragon Syndicate has thrown at us and those infernal Black Gears."  
    A faint smile spread across Dr. Lee's faces.  
"You're really determined to go in there and save Ruki, aren't you?" he asked the youths.  
    "Of course!" replied Takato sternly. "We have to rescue her. She'd do the same for us and I know you'd do the same if we were in her position."  
    Jenrya's father nodded, his smile widening.  
"I guess I would," he replied and he thought of all their past achievements like their defeat of the mighty Juggernaut Virus. Though he feared that the Black Gears in the hands of the Syndicate would merge into the formidable OOKAMI Program, somehow he felt as if they would be able to handle it. "Let me get this straight. I'm not doubting your abilities, guys. It's just that this time... it feels different, that's all. This battle might just be the toughest you've ever faced and the most dangerous."  
    "That doesn't matter," protested Takato sternly. "We'll look after each other and we'll be safe. Right, Gallantmon?"  
    "Right!"  
    "Okay then," sighed Dr. Lee, as he walked over to a large metallic cabinet. "I want you to listen carefully then. I'm going to explain the situation." He delved into his pockets and fished out a key, as he continued to speak. "That purple-grey mist is some sort of by-product of a strange radiation that's being produced within DEVA Headquarters. From our research, it seems that the mist is absorbing that radiation, which is good. However, it's causing some bizarre warping effects that is preventing people from moving within the mist." Dr. Lee slotted the key in and turned it, before opening the door. "That's why I want you to take these radiation suits. Hopefully, they'll protect you from the effects."  
    Alice noticed that the black radiation suits within the closet were the same as those she and her friends had used during the Juggernaut Incident at Phyle.  
"Thank you, Dr. Lee," she said as she received hers.  
    "Dad, there's something else, isn't there?" asked Jenrya sternly. He knew his father and he knew when his father had something else on his mind.  
    Dr. Lee finished handing the suits out and closed the door of the cabinet.  
"There is," he replied with a nod of his head. "The entire thing stinks of the Dragon Syndicate. I have a feeling that they've set up base within the DEVA Headquarters and are probably taking advantage of the Organisation's supercomputers." He thought about the situation carefully and realised that there was only one thing to do. "This time, we've got to go into the Power Plant underneath the building and shut off the power completely."  
    Takato remembered the Juggernaut incident about a year back. The DEVAs had attempted to shut off the Power Plant, but found that Hypnos had its own power source.  
"What if the DEVA Organisation has its own power source?" he asked Dr. Lee.  
    "That is a possibility," mused Dr. Lee. "However, we have to chance it. If we don't try, then who knows what will happen?"  


    The Leader of the Dragon Syndicate was seated at his grand, ebony desk, his elbows resting on his armrests and his gloved hands tented. His eyes were fixed on the computer screen in front of him. Gear Fusion was nearly 62% complete. It wouldn't be long before he had an army of Beelzemon at his command.  
"It has been so long," he muttered under his breath. "Already I have the Blue Dragon Key back in my possession. Soon the Black Tortoise Key, the Red Phoenix Key and the White Tiger Key shall be mine again." He chuckled. With those keys, he would have control over the DarkNet, the resting place of the Digitally Amalgamated Electronic Manager of Online Networks or D.A.E.M.O.N for short.  
    "And there's nothing those stupid Officials can do to stop me!" he laughed. "Not this time! This time I will have DAEMON and I will make it obey me."  
    A warning suddenly flashed across his computer screen.  
"What's this?" he exclaimed in surprise, as he looked at the screen carefully. The system was warning him of intruders in the Power Plant below. "Is that so?" He reached out and pressed the intercom button on his desk. "Forte, we've got intruders. Deal with them."  


    "Of course, Your Excellency, right away," agreed Forte, before he put down the his D-Tector. He turned round to face the others around him. They were all thugs with hardly a brain cell between them, but loyalty and strength were their assets. "Let's find those intruders and get rid of them."  
    "Not if we find you first."  
    There was the sound of guns being prepped and Forte looked around him. They were completely surrounded by Officials, each armed as heavily as his Syndicate colleagues. He also noted that they were completely surrounded. There was nothing to do for it. He and the other thugs knew that they were outnumbered and didn't stand a chance against the Officials. Forte raised his hands up into the air in the universal gesture of surrender.  
    "All right!" cried a kid's voice, before a brown-haired youth rushed past the Officials. He rushed over to the controls and tried to shift them. "What? They won't budge!"  
    "You've got to be kidding me!" cried Alice, as she rushed over towards Ryo. She helped him with the controls and found that she might as well have been pressing cardboard buttons for all it was worth. "You're right," she sighed exasperatedly. The controls were frozen and didn't do a thing.  
    "What have you done to the controls?" asked one Official sternly.  
    A devious smile spread across Forte.  
"Why don't you log in and find out?" asked the Syndicate thug.  
    Ryo raised his D-Tector and dialled a number, before raising it to his ear. He waited a while for his call to get through.  
"Hey, Takato, it's Ryo," he greeted abruptly. "The controls down here are frozen good. We can't shut off the power. Are you and Jenrya in the Headquarters yet?" He received a reply that could best be summed up as nearly. "Well, you'd better hurry. Okay, I'll see you later. Bye!" Ryo lowered his D-Tector and turned to face Alice. "Should we both log in together?"  
    Alice nodded in reply.  
"You bet," she told him, giving Forte a glance. "It's bound to be a trap."  
    "Well, in that case, let me help," volunteered an Official.  


    "It won't budge!" called out Jenrya, as he pulled on the door. "It's locked tight."  
    Takato noticed the keypad to the side of the door and saw that it had a log-in port.  
"Well, we'll see about that," he said. "Gallantmon, I'm going to load your new data-type, Aqua style and log you into the door's lock system. You think you can unlock the door for us?"  
    "Just log me in and let me at it!" came the reply from Gallantmon.  
    A smile spread across Takato's face, as he connected his D-Tector into the port.  
"Okay, I'm logging you in now!" he announced.

* * * * *

    A data stream fell from the sky and struck the floor of the path. Gallantmon, wearing a blue cape, landed on the path.  
"Okay, I'm in," he announced to his Operator. It was then that he double-taked. What was in front of him didn't make any sense. He was standing on a path that was made out of a meshwork of green lasers or possibly wire. This network of paths and terminals floated over an inky blackness through which the tops of tower blocks poked out.  
    "Whoa! Isn't that the top of this building?" cried Takato, as he saw what Gallantmon saw.  
    "I guess so," replied Gallantmon.  
    "Takato, let me have a see," stated Jenrya. There was a silent pause for a while. "Man, that is weird! It looks as if this strange radiation and mist are warping our two worlds together! I bet Dad would love to hear about this.... Hey, Gallantmon, look out!"  
    A white, spinning thing was blown across and suddenly hit Gallantmon, knocking the amour-clad, aqua-style Digimon over. He crashed on to the floor.  
"Hey, you're a Program!" exclaimed Gallantmon, as he saw the thing's frilly, purple-edged ears and large eyes and the symbol on its forehead. "What's going on here?"  
    "Radiation surges are blowing us Programs all over the network," the Program told Gallantmon. "Oh, no! Here comes another one!"  
    Gallantmon suddenly felt as if he was caught up in static. The Program was suddenly blown out of his hands and flew off into the distance. Since he was much heavier, Gallantmon wasn't blown as far. He managed to stand his ground, his shield raised and his cape billowing out behind him.  
"I've got to break through this," he cried out.  
    A data stream suddenly struck him and plucked him off the path and blew him away. It felt as if he was being pulled two ways by the data stream. Gallantmon could feel the gravity program pulling him back down to the pathways, but the data stream was pulling him in the opposite direction. He felt as if the strength of the two forces would crack his armour.  
    Without warning, the data stream suddenly dropped Gallantmon. He fell through the sky uncontrollably and down towards oblivion. Gallantmon reached out and grabbed the edge of a pathway with his hand. There he dangled from the edge. The Digimon looked down at the void below him. This wasn't possible. Digimon weren't able to drop off the edge of a path, so how come Gallantmon could?  
    The radiation had to be altering the rules of the Digital World. Maybe Jenrya was right. Maybe the Digital and Real Worlds were slowly being merged together by this strange radiation. If that were so, then the viruses from the Digital World would become real life monsters that would appear in the Real World and then his Operator would be in really big trouble.  
    "Gallantmon, are you all right?" cried Takato a split second after Gallantmon managed to catch onto the edge of the path.  
    "I'll be fine," replied Gallantmon, as he used all his strength to haul himself back up onto the path.  
    "Gallantmon, look out!" warned Takato.  
    The aqua-style Digimon looked up and saw a virus heading straight for him. Gallantmon didn't even take the time to register what type of virus it was. He merely raised his lance and prepared himself for the attack.  
"Ha, no virus is going to get the best of me!" he cried out. "Aqua Lance!" Gallantmon charged straight at the oncoming virus and the metallic lance became one of pure water, which he speared the virus with.  
    Seconds later, the virus was deleted and left behind a glowing, purple data packet.  
    It had been ages since Gallantmon had seen one of these. Lately, the viruses had refused to leave behind anything. He bent down and picked it up, examining the contents.  
"What the...?" he exclaimed in complete surprise. "This is a Meteor Storm DMD!" Such a DMD was only left behind by a Starmo3 virus and those were only found in the abandoned HypnosNet. "Something's not right here," he murmured, as he absorbed the digital data.  
    He rose up to his feet and looked around him. Gallantmon needed to find the lock program quickly, before anything other strange events could happen.  
"I'm going ahead," he called out to Takato, before he started to run across the path. He lowered his shield and ran as fast as he could, not stopping for anything that would get in his way.  
    Several thoughts were in his mind, one of which was how Taomon was. Gallantmon hoped that she would be all right, as he ran. If anything happened to her, he would never forgive himself. He suddenly skidded to a halt on the path, not advancing any further. Something felt incredibly wrong, as he stood there.  
    "What's wrong, Gallantmon?" asked Takato curiously. "Why did you stop?"  
    "Something's coming," replied Gallantmon abruptly.  
    The path ahead of him suddenly ruptured, as something large appeared. It looked out as if it was made completely out of gears and Gallantmon could clearly see that each gear had a face. It was a Super MultiHaguru Organism, a super colony of Haguru viruses. The path was completely destroyed by that virus and Gallantmon saw there was no way of getting past to the lock program. Yet, he felt obliged to at least destroy the MultiHaguru Organism and rid this network of it.  
    The Organism was the first to attack. It started chucking Haguru viruses straight at Gallantmon.  
    They merely bounced off Gallantmon's shield. He lowered his shield and its began to glow blue.  
"Eat this!" he cried out. "Aqua Wall!" A huge gush of water emerged from the shield and crashed into the Haguru viruses, deleting each one. He then quickly rushed towards the MultiHaguru and leapt at it, slashing his lance straight at its body, shredding a couple of Haguru viruses to pieces.  
    "DigiModify– HvyW8t-1 activate!" announced Takato. "DigiModify– Hvyw8t-2 activate! DigiModify– Hvyw8t-3 activate!" The three diffeerent DMDs merged in Gallantmon's free hand to create one special Combo DMD. "DigiModify- PowerQuake activate!"  
    Using his shield bearing arm, he threw the PowerQuake DMD straight up into the air above the MultiHaguru Organism. It turned into a gigantic black weight with a smiley face on it, before the weight crashed into the MultiHaguru Organism. Gallantmon saw the Haguru viruses scatter. He lowered his shield, aiming it down at them before firing off another Aqua Wall attack against the multitude of viruses.  
    "You did well in destroying my Multivirus Organism, but it won't do you any good."  
    Gallantmon looked around him wildly in a vain attempt to search for the source of the voice.  
"Who are you?" he shouted out. "Show yourself."  
    "I am the Leader of the Blue Dragon Crime Syndicate," replied the voice in response to Gallantmon's question, "and no, I can't show myself. I'm too busy finishing off the final touches to my Super Digimon, you see? No, it would be too inconvenient for me to deal with you personally. However, I have an old friend here that is willing to delete you. Stingmon, delete that wretched Digimon!"  
    A data stream struck the floor in front of Gallantmon. It was Stingmon that appeared in all his insectoid glory.  
"Must delete," murmured Stingmon, as he unsheathed a large spike on his right arm. "Must delete Gallantmon." He hovered above the floor, glaring at Gallantmon coldly. "Must delete!" he cried out, before he flew straight towards Gallantmon. The insect Digimon thrust his spiked fist straight at Gallantmon, but hit the round shield instead.  
    Gallantmon put his lance away and then flung a metallic fist straight at Stingmon's face. The force of his punch sent the Digimon flying. He then leapt straight at Stingmon and kicked the Digimon in the abdomen and sent it flying.  
"Now go away," Gallantmon told the insectoid Digimon.  
    "Must delete!" cried out Stingmon, before he rushed straight at Gallantmon.  
    There was no need for Takato's intervention. Gallantmon brought out his lance and speared Stingmon on it. Another Stingmon suddenly appeared and rushed towards him. Swinging his lance in an arc, he slashed Stingmon in two with the sharp point of his weapon. Another Stingmon appeared.  
"What?" he cried in disbelief. "Where are all these Stingmons coming from?" This was bad. It was looking like a repeat of the battle against Wizardmon he had experienced in HypnosNet. "No! I won't let these things get the best of me!"  
    Suddenly, a huge wave of light struck the numerous Stingmon and deleted them. A white-clad figure rushed past and knocked one of the Stingmon away.  
"So, Gallantmon, miss me?" asked Taomon with a smile on her face.  
    "Taomon?" exclaimed Gallantmon in surprise. "Where's Ruki?"  
    "She's fine," replied Taomon, as she looked towards the path. She extended her hands and cast out several paper spells, which bridged the gap made by the MultiHaguru Organism. "You go ahead and unlock the door for Takato and Jen. I'll deal with these Stingmon."  
    "Can you handle them?"  
    Taomon smiled at that question.  
"Of course I can," she replied. "Now get going before things get worse!"

**_To be continued..._**


	15. Transmission 14: Todokitai na

**Digimon(2).EXE**

**By Wolf O'Donnell**

WARNING! May contain Alternative Universe situations and out-of-character experiences. Upon reading this, you hereby agree that you forfeit all your rights to sue me and that I cannot be held liable for any psychological or physical damage caused by the fact that I use British English spelling and that this fanfic contains NO graphic depictions of a heterosexual and homosexual nature. Digimon is copyrighted by Bandai and Toei Animation Ltd. Wolf O'Donnell is copyrighted by Nintendo Ltd, although that might have nothing to do with the fanfic. Digimon(2).EXE is based on Rockman.EXE, which is copyrighted by Capcom Ltd. Constructive criticism is very welcome.

* * * * *

Transmission 14: Todokitai na  
    It had only been a matter of seconds for Gallantmon to unlock the door. Taomon had then logged out and now Takato, Jenrya and Ruki were running through the empty corridors of the DEVA Headquarters' upper level. They had searched the lower levels, but had found that most of the DEVAs were too busy fighting off viruses within their computers and within the DEVA Servers. It seemed as if the Dragon Syndicate had practically brought the entire DEVA Organisation to a standstill.  
    Takato turned the corner and the others followed suit. There at the end of the corridor was Colonel Oikawa's room, which the Dragon Syndicate Leader would have taken over no doubt. The youth didn't even slow down. The thought that there could have been Syndicate guards at the door didn't even occur to him.  
    Matsuda burst through the doors and into Col. Oikawa's room.  
    Sitting at the Colonel's black, ebony desk was a man with blonde hair. The man was dressed in a blue trenchcoat military tunic. A cape was draped around his shoulders and held in place with a bat-shaped clasp. His pearl grey gloves were tented together, as he sat in Colonel Oikawa's chair.  
"Welcome to the Dragon Syndicate's new main server room," chuckled the man in the chair.  
    "You! You must be the Syndicate Leader," said Takato, as he advanced towards the man.  
    The Leader chuckled, even though he seemed to have no mouth on his pale face.  
"Yes, that's right, Takato Matsuda," he told Takato with a nod of his head. "I am the Dragon Syndicate's Leader, Lord Myotis and this is my new base of operations. Tell me, do you like it?"  
    "No," replied Takato angrily.  
    "Why are you doing this?" asked Jenrya angrily. "All over the Earth Sphere, people are suffering because of you."  
    "That may be, but I can't be bothered with such trivialities," replied the Syndicate Leader. "You see, I only give the orders. My hands are clean." He chuckled again. "Still, the people won't be suffering for long," he told them. "My Super Digimon is already complete and the world shall soon be mine. Why don't you three join me? Join the Dragon Syndicate and together, our Digimon shall be unstoppable!"  
    Ruki had never been so angry in her life. This creep was offering them a job in his crime syndicate?  
"You can take your offer and shove it," retorted Ruki angrily. "We came here to stop you and that's what we're going to do." She turned to face the others. "You guys, ready?" The auburn-haired girl received two nods in reply. "Then let's log in and delete that Super Digimon!"

* * * * *

    The three Digimon landed. In front of them was a raised platform with a large needle above it. In the middle of that was an object that was glowing red then blue then green and then red again. That must have been the forming Super Digimon.  
    Gallantmon was the first to rush forward, but he didn't get very far when a sword hit him in the side and knocked him backwards.  
"What the...?" he exclaimed in complete surprise. "Leomon?"  
    A leonine Digimon stood in front of them, blocking their way to the Super Digimon.  
"You shall not pass," stated Leomon emotionlessly. "You will be deleted in the name of the Blue Dragon Crime Syndicate, in the name of Lord Myotis!" He rushed forward and swung his sword vertically down at Gallantmon. His sword never reached Gallantmon.  
    Taomon's brush was in the way and the sword was buried deep into the wood. Yet it was still intact and Taomon was struggling against Leomon's sword.  
"Get back," she cried, before kicking at Leomon, but it didn't even phase him. "What?" she exclaimed, before Leomon swung a fist at her and knocked Taomon backwards. She crashed straight on to the pathway and de-digivolved back into Renamon.  
    "Renamon, no!" cried Gallantmon in complete horror. "You're going to pay for that!" he cried and he thrust his lance at Leomon, but missed. He was suddenly kicked in the side.  
    "Get away from him, you creep!" roared Rapidmon, before firing a missile straight at Leomon.  
    Leomon was about to leap out of the way, when two data streams struck the ground beside him. Cyberdramon and Dobermon grabbed Leomon and held him right where he was. The missile careered towards Leomon, now defenceless and hit him, exploding and sending him flying backwards.  
    The Syndicate Leader laughed.  
"Do you really think that you can defeat my Leomon clone just like that?" he asked the Digimon. "He is far stronger than the original and he will delete you all for your insolence." The Syndicate Leader laughed insanely, as Leomon got back up to his feet.  
    "Fist of the Beast King!"  
    A fiery lion's head smashed into Rapidmon and knocked him backwards. He crashed to the floor and de-digivolved back into Terriermon. Another one crashed into Cyberdramon and de-digivolved him into Monodramon. Leomon then rushed straight at Gallantmon, his sword drawn.  
    Something rushed past Gallantmon before he could even get up. It slashed at Leomon and cut the Digimon in half.  
    "Leomon?" exclaimed Gallantmon in complete surprise.  
    Leomon had cut Leomon in half. Unlike the one that had been shredded into pieces, this one had battle scars all over his muscular body. This could only have been the original Leomon.  
"That'll take care of you," growled Leomon sternly. He turned his head to face Gallantmon and a smile spread across his furry face. "Well, Gallantmon, it's been a long time, hasn't it?"  
    "Yeah, it has," replied Gallantmon with a nod of his head. "So, they let you out with good behaviour, huh?"  
    "That's right."  
    "Wait a minute!" cried Takato in sudden realisation. "If you're here, then that means..."  
    "Sheesh, you're slow, Takato," said Juri with a sigh and a shake of her head. "You mean, you didn't notice me beside you all that time?" Juri laughed. "I guess some things never change."  
    "What?" cried the Syndicate Leader in disbelief. "How could you have gotten out of juvenile hall so early? I made sure you'd be stuck there for a five years at the least." Of course, the Syndicate Leader had completely forgotten about something called an Appeal Process, and said Appeal Process freed Juri of all charges. "Well, no matter, my Super Digimon, Beelzemon, is complete now!"  
    Ruki remembered that name. Renamon had faced that Digimon before and had barely lived to tell the tale.  
"You haven't!" protested Ruki in disbelief. "You've cloned Beelzemon?"  
    "The one and only," replied the Syndicate Leader. "However, I haven't just created Beelzemon. I am now capable of creating a whole army of them, which will swarm across the Digital World and conquer it!" The Syndicate Leader laughed insanely at the thought of a world under his control. "I think I shall call this copy, Malo. What do you think?"  
    "I think you're a sick and twisted man," replied Takato. "Come on, Gallantmon, let's delete it!"  
    Gallantmon rose up to his feet and turned to face the Digimon that floated in front of him.  
"Guys, get out of the way," he told the other Digimon.  
    Malo was a black Digimon with red eyes and a third eye in his forehead. He had sharp, metallic-tipped claws, a black tail and wore a brown, tattered cloak that trailed down to the knees of his leather-clad legs. Since he floated above the ground, his leather boots didn't touch the ground. His pale lips, which were as pale as the bottom half of his face, curled up into a cruel smile as he flaoted towards Gallantmon.  
    "Guys, your Digimon are in no shape to help Gallantmon," Takato told Jenrya and the others. "Log them out now!"  
    "But..."  
    "Please," pleaded Takato.  
    "Oh, okay."  
    The Syndicate Leader laughed.  
"Retreating so soon?" taunted Lord Myotis. "You overestimate your Digimon's power, boy. Malo, show them what you're capable of."  
    "With pleasure," replied the Beelzemon, as he flexed his claws. "This fight will be over before you can say, Bada Boom." He spun round and pulled out two guns, before opening fire on Gallantmon. His bullets hit Gallantmon's shield instead of hitting the Digimon himself. He roared out angrily and flew across the floor towards the knight Digimon.  
    Gallantmon was still in his aqua-style and the Digimon realised it would do him no good in the fight against Malo. Still, there was nothing else he could do but fight and defend himself from the Super Digimon. He ran towards Malo in an attempt to meet the Beelzemon halfway. He swung his lance straight at Malo, only for the Super Digimon to leap over it and perform a roundhouse kick in mid-air that knocked Gallantmon backwards.  
    The knight Digimon crashed to the floor, just as Malo dived towards him and thrust out his metallic claws. Gallantmon rolled out of the way, just as he heard Takato announce a DigiModify. He felt his right hand change into a cannon.  
"Thanks Takato," he called out to his Operator, before he turned it on Malo and opened fire.  
    Malo performed a back-flip, narrowly avoiding being blasted by Gallantmon's one-shot cannon. He whipped his guns back out and opened fire, not relenting with his onslaught. His bullets flew through the air, scattering all over the place.  
    The Mega Aqua-style Digimon rose his shield and protected himself from the onslaught of bullets. He then ran, with his shield protecting him. Gallantmon lowered his lance and charged straight at Malo in the hope of catching the Beelzemon on the end of his lance.  
"Aqua Lance!" he called out, before thrusting his weapon straight at Malo. His opponent leapt over the lance and landed on top of it, much to Gallantmon's surprise.  
    Guns were aimed at Gallantmon's head and the triggers were pulled. Bullets resounded against Gallantmon's head and he was blown back by Malo's attacks. He dropped his shield and it clattered to the ground, as he crashed onto the floor. Gallantmon grabbed his blue cape and tore it off, flinging it into Malo's face. The Digimon leapt to his feet, even though he was feeling the pain from the wounds Malo had inflicted on him. He grabbed his lance and rushed straight at Malo, thrusting his lance straight into the cloned Digimon.  
    Clawed hands grabbed the cape and tore it to shreds. There was an evil smirk on Malo's face, as he grabbed Gallantmon's lance and tore it out of his leather-clad body. Then with all his strength, Malo swung the lance round with Gallantmon still on it repeatedly until Gallantmon had become a silvery blur. He let go and let Gallantmon fly.  
    "No, Gallantmon!" cried Takato in disbelief. This was not going well. "Hang on, boy. I'm going to load your normal style."  
    "That will do you no good, Matsuda," warned the Dragon Syndicate Leader. "My Beelzemon will tear your Digimon to shreds."  
    Gallantmon shook his head.  
"No, he won't!" he protested. "Takato, go ahead and change my style, but don't worry about me. I'll be fine, even if I am aqua-style."  
    "No, I won't let you be deleted so easily!" protested Takato. "DigiModify– Giga Heal activate!"  
    A beam of light engulfed Gallantmon and healed all of the wounds that Malo had inflicted on him.  
"Thanks," he called out to his Operator. He stared Malo right in the eye, before he charged and swung his lance straight down at the Beelzemon. Malo reached out to grab it. Gallantmon swung it back behind him and then punched Malo in the face with his free hand.  
    Malo floated back quickly and aimed his guns straight back at Gallantmon. He opened fire and suddenly the floor began to spark with bullets.  
    Gallantmon was running towards Malo, unhindered though. He wove around in a zig-zag pattern, not letting the bullets hit him. A bullet rushed towards his head. Gallantmon swung his lance at the bullet and deflected it.  
"This one's for Takato!" he roared out, as he leapt into the air and swung his lance down at Malo, striking the Beelezemon on the head with it. He kicked out at Malo, his left foot striking Malo in the chest and sending him flying backwards.  
    "Gallantmon, your normal style's been loaded!"  
    The Mega Digimon's body began to flicker with static. His cape reappeared, as did his shield with Officials' Symbol on it. This time, though, his cape was red, as it should have been.  
"You're in trouble now, Malo!" cried out Gallantmon, as he aimed his shield straight at the Beelzemon clone. "Shield of the Just!" His round shield began to glow with pure energy, before a huge blast of energy flew out from it and struck the Beelzemon, engulfing him in its energy and ripping his data apart.

* * * * *

    The Syndicate Leader swore.  
"How could this be possible?" he cried in disbelief. "How could you have destroyed the Super Digimon? He was supposed to be invincible, unstoppable!" He then noticed something. "What? What are you staring at?"  
    "I don't believe it," stated Takato in a plain tone of voice. "You're Colonel Oikawa."  
    Oikawa had always had a pale face, but this time, his face was even more pale than usual and it was pale from fright.  
"What? My disguise!" he cried in disbelief. "What happened to my disguise?" The Head of the DEVA Organisation couldn't believe how this was happening. "No! I spent years manoeuvering myself into this position and now...! Now it's all ruined." He glared angrily at Takato. "I should never have let you and your friends join the DEVA Organisation. You've been a thorn in my side ever since you did."  
    "I don't understand, why are you doing this?" asked Jenrya.  
    "Yeah, especially after you were so keen to have me locked up," stated Juri angrily.  
    An insane smile spread across Oikawa's face.  
"Don't you see?" he asked, his voice taking on a hysterical tone to it. "Don't you see that this was all for the greater good? I would have destroyed all of the Crime Syndicates with my Army of Beelzemon. They would have reinforced the laws and kept order over the entire Digital World." He began to chuckle and then burst out into an insane laughter. "I would have ruled over the entire Digital World and crushed all the criminals."  
    He turned to his keyboard and began typing on it quickly.  
"And it will happen!" laughed Oikawa. "Nothing you can do can stop me. Nothing! Nothing!"  
    "Quick, we've got to log in and help Takato!"  
    A wall of grey-purple mist suddenly surrounded Takato and Oikawa, sealing them off from the outside world.  
    "Takato!" cried out Ruki, before she rushed at the mist. She hit it and bounced off, as if she had run into a brick wall.  
    "Ruki, are you okay?" asked Juri, as she rushed towards the auburn-haired girl.  
    "I'll be fine," replied Ruki, as she shrugged her arm away from Juri. "It's Takato that I'm worried about."

* * * * *

    "Oh, no, not again!" protested Gallantmon, as he saw another figure form before him. It was another Beelzemon.  
    "This time there will be no screw ups," laughed Oikawa insanely. "Go and destroy him, Malo2!"  
    Gallantmon steadied himself and waited for the oncoming onslaught. It would be a long and difficult fight, he knew that, but there was no other choice. He had to stop Oikawa's insane plans of world domination if it was the last thing he did. The Digimon heard Takato tell him to be careful.  
"Don't worry, Takato, I'll be fine," he told his Operator. "You can count on it."  
    The new Beelzemon floated forward and it would have attacked, had something strange not happened. Malo2 clutched at its throat, as if it was being strangled and made strange gargling noises. These noises turned into growling noises, as the Digimon began to glow.  
    A ghostly image of a huge wolf, which was missing its left eye, appeared over Beelzemon. Moments later, the image disappeared.  
    "OOKAMI?" exclaimed Oikawa in surprise, upon recognising the ghostly image to be that of the military program.   
    Beelzemon started to mutate and grew to a formidable size. His limbs became white and huge purple wings sprouted from his back. A large, red mask like that Oikawa used to wear, covered his face and his aquiline nose. His arms were white and like rounded stumps on the ends with black claws. The new creature was crouched at its knees, which had Yin-Yang symbols that were twisted to look like evil faces. Its shoulders were large and round. To top it off, the monster had blonde hair and as the saying goes, Blondes have all the fun. And this one seemed as if it was going to enjoy pummeling the stuffing out of Gallantmon.  
    If you've watched Digimon Season 2, you'll notice that Malo2 looks a lot like MaloMyotismon. But appearances are only skin-deep...  
    "Avenge," growled Malo2. "Must avenge. Must avenge OOKAMI." Malo2 then roared and all its mouths opened, the one on on its head and the two on its shoulders. "Must destroy all Digimon!"  
    "No, stop!" cried Oikawa. "Stop! I command you to stop!"

* * * * *

    Takato started pressing buttons on his D-Tector frantically in an attempt to set up the DMDs necessary to delete Malo2.  
    The computer at Oikawa's desk started to spark violently. Oikawa leapt back, as the monitor cracked.  
"No, stop this!" protested Oikawa. "Malo2, I command you to stop! What is with this thing? It's disobeying me, just like DAEMON did. No, this can't be the way it all ends!" He rushed forward to shut the power off to the computer, but was suddenly electrocuted. Oikawa cried out in pain and was suddenly flung aside.  
    "Nearly got it," murmured Takato, as he loaded more DMDs into his D-Tector. Then without warning, a bolt of electricity shot out from the computer and struck Takato. The surge of electricity flung him away from the computer and he crashed to the floor, his every muscle convulsing and his hand gripping his D-Tector so tightly that no man could tear it out of his grasp.  
    And so Takato lay there, staring sightlessly at the ceiling.

**_To be continued..._**


	16. Transmission 15: Beat Hit

**Digimon(2).EXE**

**By Wolf O'Donnell**

WARNING! May contain Alternative Universe situations and out-of-character experiences. Upon reading this, you hereby agree that you forfeit all your rights to sue me and that I cannot be held liable for any psychological or physical damage caused by the fact that I use British English spelling and that this fanfic contains NO graphic depictions of a heterosexual and homosexual nature. Digimon is copyrighted by Bandai and Toei Animation Ltd. Wolf O'Donnell is copyrighted by Nintendo Ltd, although that might have nothing to do with the fanfic. Digimon(2).EXE is based on Rockman.EXE, which is copyrighted by Capcom Ltd. Constructive criticism is very welcome.

Author's Note: A big thank you to all you who have reviewed this fanfic. I'm glad you liked it. Now read carefully, as this is the last chapter of Digimon(2).EXE. Don't worry if this fanfic seems to have such an abrupt ending. There'll be a sequel, Digimon.EXE 3, which'll tie up all the loose ends. Once again, thank you for reading this fanfic.

* * * * *

Transmission 15: Beat Hit!  
    "Takato! Takato, can you hear me?"  
    Slowly, Takato began to stir, but he found himself unable to open his eyes.  
"Who's there?" asked Takato, as he tried his best to open his eyes. "That voice... it sounds so familiar. Gallantmon, is that you?"  
    "That's right, Takato, it's me, Gallantmon," replied the voice. "You blacked out when you were shocked by the computer system. Are you okay now?"  
    Takato tried to move, but the brown-haired youth found himself unable to do so. It was as if his limbs were made out of concrete.  
"I can't move," the youth told Gallantmon. "Gallantmon, I can't move!" he cried out more worried than before. Had he been completely paralysed or was it the weird warping effects that the Gear Fusion was causing? "I'm sorry, Gallantmon, I won't be able to help you battle against Malo2."  
    "Takato, remember what Dr. Lee told you about me?" asked Gallantmon in a caring tone of voice.  
    "Yeah, you used to be my brother once," replied Takato and he would have nodded his head in reply, if only he could. "We used to be twins, identical twins. My parents called me Takato and they named you, Grani, but you didn't survive. You had a heart problem and then..." He trailed off sadly. Sometimes, he wished that his Digimon was real and in his world, so that they could be together. He would have loved having a twin brother that he could share things with and could have played with.  
    "Don't be sad," Gallantmon told Takato. "I'm still here with you, but as your Digimon." There was a silent pause. "Takato, I'm going to put my 'heart program' in full synch with your heart. It won't matter if you can't move then. You'll be able to help me beat Malo2, as if we were one."  
    For a while, Takato didn't say another thing. He was just merely silent, as if in deep thought.  
"Okay, let's give it a shot," he agreed. "Let's defeat Malo2 and destroy the Dragon Syndicate."  
    "Yeah!"  
    "Grani.BAT execute! Biomerge activate!"

* * * * *

    Gallantmon began to change. His armour became red and he sprouted white wings that glowed like that of pure angel. He unsheathed a sword, a blade that glowed brightly like the sun. Gallantmon had become a Mega level, Grani-style Digimon, one of the most strongest Digimon ever created.  
"All right, Malo2, you're going down!" he cried and his voice sounded like a combination of Guilmon's and Takato's voice, as if they were speaking together at the same time.  
    Malo2 lifted his head and roared, all three of his mouths roaring at once.   
"Must avenge OOKAMI!" he screamed. "Must avenge OOKAMI and destroy all Digimon!" He lashed out with his arm, nearly crushing Gallantmon, had the Digimon not leapt out of he way.  
    "I don't think so, pal!" retorted Gallantmon, his voice sounding like Takato and Guilmon's combined. He flew up into the air.  
    The mouth on Malo2's head opened.  
"Screaming Darkness!" roared Malo2, before he fired a wave of dark energy, which surged out from the mouth on his head and spread out towards Gallantmon.  
    With the agility of two people, Gallantmon flew over the attack and flew in to attack. He swung his sword at Malo2, only for the sword to clash against the body as if it had struck stone.  
"What?" exclaimed Gallantmon in surprise. "That should have wounded him!" The Grani-style Digimon couldn't understand why it hadn't wounded Malo2.  
    Suddenly, one of Malo2's arms swung round and crashed into Gallantmon, striking him down. He fell to the floor and crashed into it with a heavy thud.  
    Takato cried out in pain. After all, that was the side-effect of becoming one with Gallantmon. His Digimon's pain became his pain.  
"Man, that smarts!" cried Takato, as Gallantmon got back up to his feet. "Why didn't that hurt him?"  
    "I'm not sure," replied Gallantmon. "It's as if his hide is impervious to any attack." The Digimon began to wonder if there was any way that he could harm Malo2.  
    "Crimson Mist!" screamed Malo2, as its two mouths on its shoulders opened up. Each one spewed out a blood red mist that drifted towards the armour-clad Digimon.  
    Gallantmon quickly leapt over the mist and floated high above its reach. He saw the mask and began to wonder. Did it hide a weakspot? He flapped his wings and flew straight towards Malo2 in the hope that he would somehow be able to defeat the mysterious creature. Gallantmon flew sideways to avoid Malo2's flailing arms. He roared out and fired a white beam of pure energy straight at Malo2's red mask in the hope that it would break it apart.  
    The beam hit Malo2, but it didn't do anything.  
    "What?" cried Gallantmon in disbelief. "This can't be! Nothing I've tried works against this guy!"  
    Malo2 glared up at Gallantmon with a smug toothy smile. It opened its central mouth and inhaled sharply, before a huge powerful beam of black energy flew out of its mouth. This time it's Screaming Darkness attack caught Gallantmon and flung him backwards.  
"Must destroy!" roared Malo2. "Must destroy all that spurned OOKAMI!" It rushed across the floor towards Gallantmon, eager and impatient to tear the Digimon to shreds.  
    This was not how Gallantmon had pictured going, to be torn apart by a dead program's lackey. There had to be some way of getting past its thick hide.  
"Got any ideas, Takato?" asked Gallantmon weakly.  
    "Nope, but I sure wish that Malo2 would just shut its big mouth," replied Takato with an exhausted sigh.  
    "Big mouth?" exclaimed Gallantmon, as Malo2 closed in on him. "That's it!" He got up and waited for the right moment to attack. With his new plan, patience was key and he could always dodge any attack that Malo2 could throw at him. It was esy for him to outpace such a large and bumbling creature. "That's right, say, 'Aah'," he said, as he saw Malo2 open its mouth to perform another Crimson Mist attack. "Eat this!" he cried, before firing another pure white beam of energy.  
    It curved upwards and past Malo2's open lips hitting the back of the monster's throat. The other mouths opened wide and roared out in pain. Malo2 stumbled backwards, its arms flailing about aimlessly in agony. It opened the mouth on its right shoulder and fired a black ray of energy straight at Gallantmon.  
    The Mega level Digimon leapt backwards, and a split second later the ray hit the floor where he had just been moments earlier.  
"Is that the best you can do?" taunted Gallantmon and Takato together. He spread his arms out. "Come on and do your worst, Malo2!" The taunt didn't work. Malo2 had learnt its lesson and that was what made Gallantmon despair. "Hey, wait a minute! Don't UltraBomb Combos work well against viruses with impenetrable hides?"  
    "You're right!" cried Takato in sudden realisation. "Hang on, while I get the DMDs."  
    "Take your time," said Gallantmon, "I can always outrun this guy." He ducked underneath Malo2's right arm. "That missed me by a mile!" he taunted Malo2, although whether that was such a good idea remained to be seen.  
    "Okay, I got it!" announced Takato. "DigiModify– Smiley bomb activate! DigiModify– Big Smiley Bomb activate! DigiModify– Energetic Bomb activate!" The three DMDs all appeared in Gallantmon's left hand and merged into one special DMD. "DigiModify– UltraBomb activate!"  
    Malo2 roared out and swung his right arm out at Gallantmon. It missed. The monstrous creature growled angrily and then lashed out with its scorpion-like tail. This was much faster and it caught Gallantmon in the head, just as the Digimon was about to throw his UltraBomb Combo at Malo2.  
    The bomb fell out of Gallantmon's hand and crashed into the floor. It exploded with such force that it cracked the floor.  
    An arm lashed out at Gallantmon and Malo2 grabbed the armoured Digimon. If the creature was intelligent enough, he would have laughed at Gallantmon's misfortune, but it wasn't even smart enough for that. All Malo2 knew was rage and revenge. He would do everything in his power to destroy the Digimon and that included Gallantmon. The mouth on Malo2's right shoulder opened up and the creature lifted Gallantmon up towards it.  
    "Let go!" cried Gallantmon angrily, as he tried to pry himself out of Malo2's grasp. "Let go of me, you freak!" He charged up a powerful attack of pure white energy in his hands. "Take this!" Gallantmon fired a powerful ray of pure light straight at Malo2's open mouth.  
    Gallantmon was suddenly flung away by a raging Malo2 in pain. Just before he hit the ground, Gallantmon stopped himself and flew back upwards. He looked for another opening but found that Malo2 had already closed its mouth.  
"Now how are we going to fight this guy?" asked Gallantmon.  
    "What we need is a DMD that can pierce any form of hide," was Takato's reply. "A Wreckball DMD might just do the trick. Let's try it. DigiModify– Wreckball activate!"  
    A metallic sphere appeared in Gallantmon's hand. This would take some good timing and good aim.  
    Malo2 lashed out with a claw, only to miss the more agile Digimon. He lashed out with his tail and missed again. The two mouths on either of Malo2's shoulders opened up and out seeped a red mist that flew at Gallantmon with an amazing speed.  
    The Digimon quickly threw the Wreckball at Malo2's head, before he resorted to flying down underneath the Crimson Mist and landing back on the floor. As he did so, he heard a crunching sound as of rock breaking and then a scream of pure agony. Gallantmon smiled. He knew he had made a direct hit. He landed on the floor and looked up to see the Crimson Mist following him down.  
    Gallantmon was about to leap out of the way, when Malo2's tail struck him and pinned him down to the ground. Despite his struggles, Gallantmon could not break free. The Crimson Mist closed in on him and engulfed his body. It started dissolving his very armour and attacking at his very digital data. Gallantmon did his best to break free, but he couldn't do so. The tail pinned him down too firmly. All he could do was let the mist choke him and dissolve him away into nothing.  
    "I have been waiting a long time for this moment," said a voice that echoed all around Gallantmon and Malo2, "a moment when I could finally have my revenge. Now I shall destroy those that dared to cross my path." The voice laughed. It was a mysterious voice that neither Gallantmon nor Takato recognised. It didn't sound like Oikawa at all, so who could it be? "And I shall start with you, Matsuda. Through Malo2, I will have my revenge!"  
    As Gallantmon stewed in the Crimson Mist, his thoughts turned to all those that he cared about. He began to think about his friends, Cyberdramon and Dobermon and Terriermon. He began to think about Leomon and how he had come to save them. He thought of their Operators and how they were friends with their Digimon. Gallantmon thought about Taomon and Ruki. He thought about Ryo and Jenrya and Alice and Juri. More importantly, he thought of Takato and how the brown-haired youth loved him like a brother.  
    He realised that his pain was even now being felt by Takato. What would happen if he was deleted now that his heart program was in synch with Takato's heart. Would Takato die with him? No, he wouldn't let that happen. They all depended on him pulling through, Takato more so, as the youth was now a part of him.  
    Gallantmon realised that he was the only one that could destroy Malo2, not just because he was the only one to get to it.  
"I won't lose to you!" roared Gallantmon, as his body began to glow with a bright energy.  
    Malo2 cried out in surprise, as Gallantmon spiralled out of the Crimson Mist. Through its cracked red mask, its eyes showed a look of shock.  
"Must avenge OOKAMI!" roared Malo2. "Screaming Darkness!" Malo2 opened its central mouth and let rip with a black wave of energy.  
    Gallantmon flew above it and plunged down towards Malo2's face. He struck the red mask, that had been cracked by the UltraBomb Combo. It shattered into a million pieces to reveal the face underneath.  
"There's a piece missing!" exclaimed Gallantmon in surprise, as he saw a gear-shaped hole in Malo2's forehead. Of course! That piece was the one he had shattered back in the traffic signals. "So that's why OOKAMI hasn't been reborn yet." He then fired a ray of pure energy down towards the hole in the Black Gear-born monster.  
    The Digimon was surprised to see Malo2 block the attack with an arm. Gallantmon tried to fly back and retreat, but the arm rushed out and he was gripped by Malo2's black claws. The monster's other arm rose upwards and then descended down towards Gallantmon.  
"Takato, I won't let him hurt you anymore!" promised Gallantmon, as he wriggled around in Malo2's grasp. "I promise you that! I won't let him hurt you or your friends!" He wrenched his hand free and fired a ray of pure light at Malo2's other arm.  
    Through his pain, Takato managed to get a DMD loaded.  
"DigiModify– Hyper Jet activate!" announced Takato.  
    Gallantmon's energy attack pulsed forwards and grew in intensity. It smashed against Malo2's arm, preventing it from moving close enough to hit Gallantmon. He roared out and put more effort into the energy beam, making it pulse forward and pushing back Malo2's arm.  
    A tail like that of a scorpion's suddenly lashed out from above and struck Gallantmon. It hurt, but he knew that he couldn't let up his attack. He put more energy into his energy beam. Eventually, one of them would give in and Gallantmon was determined to ensure that that one would be Malo2. The tail lashed out at him again and Gallantmon caught the tail in his other hand.  
"Now let's see how you like a taste of your own medicine," he said, before stabbing Malo2's tail straight into the white hide of Malo2's arm.  
    That did the trick. Malo2, blinded by the pain, let go. His arms flung to his side. The white beam of energy rushed up and smashed into Malo2's face and some of the energy hit the hole in his forehead. Malo2 staggered back in pure agony, clutching at his forehead.  
    "Useless! Worthless!" cried the mysterious voice. "Destroy him before he gets another shot in!"  
    "I don't know who you are," shouted Takato, "but your Malo2 won't be able to do your bidding for long. You've lost! DigiModify– Hyper Speed activate!"  
    Gallantmon flew straight towards Malo2. He drew his sword and flew up towards Malo2's exposed forehead.  
"Take this!" he roared, before thrusting the sharp blade into Malo2's hole.  
    There was a look of shock on Malo2's face, as Gallantmon pulled the sword back out and floated back. The monstrosity didn't move. It just stood there as if it had been frozen into a statue. Suddenly, the entire thing began to shudder. Cracks appeared all over Malo2's surface, as its structural integrity began to weaken.  
    "No! You'll pay for this!" roared the mysterious voice. "I will get my revenge!"  
    Malo2 exploded in a huge burst of black smoke. It billowed outwards and upwards like a mushroom cloud from an atomic explosion, but then at the top it began to take on a form. The smoke billowed out, until it was shaped like that of a wolf's head.  
    The floor that had been cracked by the failed UltraBomb combo suddenly broke apart to reveal nothing underneath it. If Gallantmon fell through that, he would be instantly deleted. The bits of floor flew upwards and began to congregate around the wolf shaped mist. The bits of floor reformed Malo2, but this time the right hand was replaced with that of a wolf's head and the wolf's head seemed to be missing its left eye.  
    Malo2 laughed this time, but this time, he sounded like the mysterious voice.  
"Now behold our true might!" chortled Malo2. The monster aimed his wolf's head straight at Gallantmon, before it shot out straight at Gallantmon.  
    The speed of the attack caught Gallantmon completely by surprise. The force of the impact knocked the wind out of him and nearly made him fall into the opening below and into complete oblivion. When he looked back up, he saw that the wolf's head had returned to Malo2's arm. Before Gallantmon could react, Malo2 rushed forwards and slashed at the Digimon with his tail.  
    "Screaming Darkness!" A huge wave of black energy hit Gallantmon and blew him back, damaging him.  
    Gallantmon was now hurting badly. He was feeling weak as well and felt as if he would topple into the pit below him and into oblivion. The Digimon felt as if there was nothing he could do. After all, Malo2's hide was tougher than that of anything he had fought before.  
    "Gallantmon, I know we can do this," gasped Takato through the pain that filled his every muscle. "We're merged together, right? We've got the strength of two now." There was a pause, before Takato continued, "We've faced tougher guys than this. Remember the Juggernaut Virus? Its UltraBarrier was far tougher to crack than this guy's hide. This Malo2's a pushover compared to the Juggernaut Virus, so let's get him!"  
    The Digimon nodded.  
"Right," he agreed with Takato and summoned up all his strength and courage. He would need it if he was to finish Malo2 for good. Gallantmon charged up his most powerful attack. "You think you're so tough, Malo2?" he shouted at the monstrosity. "Well, let's see you withstand this!" He then fired the most powerful beam of white energy he had ever created.  
    The beam of white energy struck Malo2 and the impact sent winds flying in all directions. There was a blinding flash and then a huge explosion as the energy tore into Malo2's tough body. Dust flew up into the air, as the explosion ripped at the floor underneath Malo2's feet and at the monster's tough hide. It obscured all vision.  
    As the dust began to clear, there was an evil laugh.  
"Is that the best you can do, Digimon?" asked Malo2 curiously.  
    Gallantmon couldn't believe it. Malo2 was still intact and so was the floor it was standing on. That was his most powerful attack and yet the monster had withstood it. Yet, as he looked more closely, it seemed that he had managed to wound it slightly. There were cracks all over its body.  
    "All right!" exclaimed Takato all of a sudden. "I've got it! Malo2, try this on for size! DigiModify– Flamedramon activate! DigiModify– Seadramon activate! DigiModify– Raidramon activate! DigiModify– Rock Punch activate! DigiModify– Poison Ivy activate!"  
    This was the most complicated Combo Takato had ever attempted in his own life. It involved using data from several Digimon and it ended up in causing one of the most powerful Combos he had ever seen in his entire life, the Elemental Blitz.  
    Malo2 opened the mouths on its shoulders and let rip with a powerful Crimson Mist attack. It was far faster than it had been before and engulfed Gallantmon completely. This was followed by a Screaming Darkness and then the wolf's head. Both attacks smashed into Gallantmon and the pain it indirectly inflicted on Takato was immense.  
    Takato could hardly concentrate. Though he wasn't in the Digital World with his Digimon, he could feel every blow. His teeth was gritted and his eyes were screwed shut, tears streaming down his eyes. He felt as if he would die, the pain was so great. Yet he knew that he had to be strong, like his Digimon was being strong for him.  
"You're going down!" he cried out. "DigiModify– Elemental Blitz activate!"  
    The Combo activated and Gallantmon felt himself splitting apart. He could now see and think with the minds of five... no, six! Gallantmon split into five differently coloured versions of himself. It was like the birth of an army of angels. There was one of each element– fire, aqua, electricity, earth and wood. All five versions of Gallantmon teleported around Malo2 and began punching away at the monstrosity.  
    With each punch, the data that made up Malo2's body began to weaken. The cracks began to widen and bits began to fall off of Malo2's body. There was nothing that the creature could do, though, as it was assaulted from all sides.  
    "No, stop it!" protested Malo2, but the Gallantmons wouldn't heed his cries.  
    Once started, the Elemental Blitz combo could not be stopped.  
    The five Gallantmons then teleported back to their original position and merged back into the one Gallantmon. In doing so, they created a devestating explosion that engulfed the entire arena and blasted Malo2 to bits, sending fragments of the monster flying all over the Digital World.

* * * * *

    "Takato! Takato, wake up!"  
    Slowly, one eye opened and then closed back again. Then two eyes gradually opened again and Takato saw a face looking back at him. Whose face was it?  
"Ruki?" he muttered weakly. The battle had pretty much taken it all out of him and made him incredibly tired, but he was a flexible lad and headstrong.  
    "Are you all right?" asked Ruki concernedly. She could see bruises and cuts all over Takato's body, as if he had been in the Digital World, battling against Malo2 himself.  
    "Yeah, you feeling okay, Takato?" asked Gallantmon.  
    "Yeah, I'm fine," replied Takato with a nod of his head. "Gallantmon, what happened to Malo2 and... and..."  
    If Takato could have seen his Digimon, he would have known that Gallantmon was smiling.  
"Malo2's history and the Dragon Syndicate is as good as gone," replied the Digimon. "Thanks for all the help, Takato. You really helped me out back there, more than you even know."  
    "Really?" asked Takato curiously.  
    "Yeah," replied Gallantmon briefly.  
    Jenrya laughed and went over to help Takato up to his feet.  
"It looks like you and Gallantmon have saved the day again," he stated. He was proud to have Takato as a friend, to have such a caring kid as a friend. "And it seems that, as in your typical fashion, you don't even know how you did it. If I didn't know you, I would have said you got by through that fight through sheer dumb luck."  
    "Hey, don't say that about our Takato," said Ryo, as he clapped a hand on the brown-haired youth's shoulder. "You know he's a great Digimon Operator."  
    "You know, Takato, for a while, I thought you were a goner," said Ruki. "Then again, I should have known you'd pull through. Oh, Takato!"  
    Takato suddenly found himself being hugged by Ruki.  
"Oh Lord," he sighed.  
    "Oh my," exclaimed Gallantmon in an embarrassed tone of voice, "I'm turning all red..."  
    "You are all red," retorted Takato. "You know what would be really good right now? One long night in front of the telly, doing absolutely nothing but watching my favourite shows." He looked at his D-Tector and called up the clock function, so as to look at the time. "Say, do you think we can get back home in time to watch Digimon Frontier?"

* * * * *

    The paths were made out of a smooth blue metal, as were the terminals. This floated in a white sky in which the Hypnos Symbol floated. It was the old HypnosNet, still abandoned and still functioning. No one had been able to find the servers that powered the HypnosNet and as such, no one had been able to dismantle HypnosNet.  
    A black figure floated across one of the paths. This black Digimon wore a tattered brown cloak and had black boots and black leather trousers.  
"Insolents," he growled to himself, as he floated across the pathway and towards a lone Black Gear, lying on the terminal floor. "Rotting weakling." He extended a clawed hand and the Black Gear rose up into the air and into the palm of his hand. "Manipulating others as if I could care less!"  
    The black figure lifted the Black Gear and opened his mouth, swallowing it whole. His pointed teeth crushed the Gear into smithereens and he swallowed it, his pale throat bulging as each piece went down.  
"Fool! How dare he think that he could create a copy of me?" cried the lone black Digimon angrily. "There is only room in this Digital World for one Beelzemon!" He grumbled under his breath. "Humans... such worthless creatures. One day, they'll face my judgement and then... bada boom! All of them will be gone!"  
    A data stream then struck Beelzemon and he was spirited away from HypnosNet, leaving only his laughter to echo all around him.

**_The End?  
To be continued in Digimon.EXE 3._**


End file.
